When you’re a parent, and you’re buying a new car, safety becomes a top priority. You might do a bit more research, read more ratings, and ask the experts about which vehicles are the safest for children.
Nowadays, the safest vehicles on the road are often the ones with the best technological advancements. There are emerging tech trends designed to improve your family’s well-being on the road. Understanding those trends and their design for improved safety can help to empower you as you decide on your next vehicle.
Of course, even if you’re not in the market for a new car, you can still use tech to your advantage to keep your family safe by making a few sound investments. So, whether you’re looking for something new or want to upgrade your existing vehicle, consider some of these tech solutions designed with safety in mind.
Understand New Tech Trends
If you’re not sure how technological advancements could improve your family’s safety on the road, consider some of the latest tech trends in the automotive industry. Some of the most recent car safety technologies designed to protect and save lives include:
- Rearview cameras
- Lane departure alerts
- Automatic emergency braking systems
- Adaptive cruise control
- Airbag systems
- Automatic parking systems
These features are designed to offer you peace of mind when you’re behind the wheel. While they don’t completely eliminate the risk of accidents occurring, they can dramatically lower the chances by alerting you of potential risks so you can get out of harm’s way or regain control.
Vehicles are now also catering to telematics, utilizing GPS trackers and acceleration trackers to keep drivers safe. The data collected from your vehicle can be sent to your mobile device to provide habitual information about your driving. You’ll be able to tell how fast you drive in certain areas or how quickly you tend to brake. That might not seem like a big deal, but understanding these habits can help you realize where you might be making unsafe manoeuvres. Telematics can alert you of changes you should make in your driving.
Adding Tech to Your Car
If you’re not interested in buying a new vehicle right now, you can still take advantage of technology by having devices installed in your existing vehicle. One of the easiest ways to improve the safety of your car with tech is by installing a backup camera. Many of today’s newer vehicles come with them, but you can install an aftermarket one for just a few hundred dollars.
Backup cameras allow you to see anything behind your vehicle without having to turn your head. They also pick up on things you might not be able to see even if you looked behind you from within the car. For example, if a small child was standing behind your car, or if someone quickly darted out behind your vehicle to get a toy or ball, a backup camera would allow you to see and react immediately.
Other aftermarket items that can be added to just about any vehicle to boost safety include:
- GPS navigation systems
- A touchscreen display
- Tire pressure monitoring system
- Collision avoidance
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Parking sensors
Consider talking to a trusted mechanic or dealership to determine the best additions for your car and how they might impact the safety of your vehicle.
Safe Driving Tips
The important thing to remember about tech advancements in any industry is that they don’t eliminate the need for people to be diligent. When you get behind the wheel, no matter how many tech tools you have in your car, it’s still essential to practice safe driving habits – especially with kids in the car. If you want to keep your family safe on the road, the tried and true practices of ensuring seatbelts are fastened, making sure your car is well-maintained, and driving defensively are all just as important as ever.
Car technologies that help keep kids safe are there to serve as assistants. They can make driving more convenient and more secure, but they won’t completely take over the need for safe driving habits.
Additionally, don’t get so caught up in the latest and greatest tech that you end up getting useless features in your vehicle that could end up doing more harm than good. For example, some new vehicles have the ability to send social media messages and texts from the front dash screen. The concept is simple – it’s meant to keep drivers from looking at their phones. But, if you’re looking at a screen and reading a message or trying to send one in return, you’re just as distracted. It’s a feature that could actually be dangerous.
Striking a balance between technology and “old-fashioned” safe driving habits is the way to go if you want to keep your family secure on the road. So, whether you’re looking for a new vehicle for the family or you want to make some tech-friendly updates to your existing one, keep these tips in mind to prioritize child safety every time you get behind the wheel.