Safe Travels

These auto advancements share one critical goal: to protect you and your family.

By Ronald Ahrens
Imagine a baseball crowd cheering harder for the little bunt dribbling out to third base than for the mighty home run. Well, something like that is happening right now in the new car and truck market. Simple safety has become a driving force in automotive marketing -- every bit as big a draw as jazzy performance or luxury.

"Safety sells in a way that it never has before," says Eron Shosteck of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Whether it's tires that never go completely flat, cars that know how to stop in the absolute shortest distance or seat belts for dogs, car buyers' appetites for safety have led manufacturers to develop and introduce more and better features with each new model year. To help you keep it all straight, we've put together this survey of the latest auto safety features, some of which you may want to look for on your next new vehicle.

Air Bags: Lessening The Impact
Supplemental restraint systems, aka air bags, have turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser, defying naysayers in the press who argued that they were too expensive and unreliable -- a common misconception back in the '70s. The government persisted, requiring air bags in 1989 for the driver and in 1998 for the front passenger. Side air bags are offered now in quite a few models. Auto manufacturers have voluntarily committed to making side air bags standard equipment in all cars by 2009. Meanwhile, inflatable side curtains, which deploy from a high position and extend along a vehicle's rear rows, are popping up in SUVs and minivans. Through the years, air bags also have become smarter: They now can inflate partially or fully, depending on the severity of impact and the weight of the occupant.

• Latest Thing: A knee air bag for the driver. It opens in the foot well and is designed to prevent injury to the lower legs.
• Next Big Thing: External air bags. When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, this air bag deploys from under the hood, cushioning the victim's impact against the windshield.

ABS: Sensitivity Underfoot
The now-ubiquitous antilock braking system, or ABS, has led to some remarkable advances. To understand how ABS works, imagine your hand about to grasp a spinning dinner plate. To stop its motion, you "pulse" your fingers and thumb against both surfaces. This is exactly what happens with antilock disc brakes.

The discs, also called rotors, are made of cast iron and are gripped by calipers fitted with high-friction pads. On slippery surfaces or under the hardest braking conditions, electronic controls pulse the calipers instead of letting them lock down on the rotor. That way, the vehicle won't skid out of control. Before the advent of antilock brakes, it was impossible to steer while braking hard.

• Latest Development: Sensors that determine whether the brake rotor is wet. When it is, the car lightly applies the brakes to dry off the rotors so they're better able to perform.

Onboard Computers: A car's brain
A vehicle without power locks is almost unthinkable these days. Now this convenience feature -- which once was available only on luxury cars -- is able to multitask. For example, the safety systems in many vehicles will automatically unlock the car's doors in the event of air-bag deployment.

• Impressive Trick: Vehicles with embedded cellular technology automatically call 911 or a similar service upon detecting air-bag deployment. Meanwhile, the computer shuts off the engine's fuel pump, keeping gasoline from spewing all over an accident scene.
• Foreseeable Feature: When the onboard diagnostic computer detects a failing component or system, it will contact you and send you an electronic report of the problem.

Tires: Rolling Innovations
Tire manufacturers have long labored over the perennial problem of blowouts. Their clever stopgap solution: run-flat tires. These tires won't allow you to drive indefinitely on zero pressure, but they will let you get back home or to the nearest service facility.

In the mid 1980s, run-flats appeared on a few sports cars (relieving the automaker of the need to squeeze a spare tire into the tiny trunk). Now they're available as original or optional equipment on some luxury cars and minivans.

• Will They Work as Replacement Tires? Probably not -- at least not very cheaply. That's because they require specially contoured wheels. Additionally, low-pressure sensors and a driver warning function need to be part of the system.
• Before Leaving the Tire Department: You may not be able to drive around on run-flats, but you should consider getting winter tires. American motorists unwisely have let themselves become seduced by the term "all-season radials." But a look around any parking lot in Québec shows that Canadians know better. A set of specially designed winter tires will deliver a huge improvement in starting, stopping and cornering, whether your vehicle has front-,rear- or four-wheel drive. Winter tires are made of softer rubber, and the compound is impregnated with silica for vastly superior adhesion to packed snow and ice. Carefully developed tread patterns enhance traction in deep snow. The extra margin of safety you get from winter tires is easily worth the expense.

Sensors: Smarter than ever
Robotic cameras, sonar, radar -- some vehicles have entered what sounds like the realm of science fiction. Look for adaptive speed control -- essentially cruise control on steroids -- that uses radar impulses to maintain a sensible distance from the cars in front of and behind you. As traffic dictates, the electronically controlled engine adjusts its workload, slowing or speeding your vehicle to maintain a safe distance.

Lane-departure warning systems, which were introduced in a few 2005 models, use a camera and artificial intelligence to "read" a road's lane markings. Whenever drift is detected -- as would happen if a driver began to doze off, for instance -- the system sounds an alarm. Using the turn signal disables the warning, allowing for normal lane changes and turns.

Parking assistance is a practical tool that helps vehicles avoid hidden obstacles. By emitting sound waves and measuring the rate of their return, parking assistance can detect stationary and moving objects such as a person up to about five feet away. The driver hears a beeping sound as the vehicle nears the object. Rear parking assistance has become common; some vehicles offer front parking assistance too. Certain vehicles have rear-mounted cameras that send a picture to the navigation system's dashboard screen.

Adaptive lighting is a new feature on several luxury car models. These headlamps rotate up to 15 degrees in the direction the wheels are turned, providing a clearer view around corners or curving interstate ramps.

• Next Big Thing: Fully variable headlights that adapt to ambient light, vehicle speed, steering wheel position and other important driving conditions.

Smart Highways: Traffic monitors
The U.S. government has begun to develop "smart highways," which will use computer chips and lasers to monitor traffic. Transmitters will allow automatic communication with vehicles, warning of hazards ahead (such as an overturned truck or debris in the road) and prompting automatic responses. Vehicles even will be able to exchange data among themselves. The result: fewer crashes and more efficient use of the roadways.

• The Future Is Now: A small portion of California's Interstate 15 is already equipped with the experimental components for smart travel.
• Accidents May Be History: As more highways are rebuilt in the coming years, the technology likely will spread. And one day, stories about running off the road may be the stuff of history books.

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