New Car Technology

In the insurance world additional safety features on cars has usually led to fewer accidents and that is good news for both the

insurance industry and for us a driver.

In the past decade, our cars and trucks have been equipped with so much technology that the consul of my car now looks like

something from a Star Wars movie.

My car has multiple cameras, air bags in every part of the interior, impact sensors, special braking and collision avoidance systems.

I have spent hours reading my owner’s manual and I still don’t know half of what my car is supposed to be able to do to make me

feel safer.

Now I find that the Travelers Insurance Company recently reported that research funded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has determined the benefits of all of this technology has yet to be

proven.

Does Car Technology Lead To fewer Accidents

Take Lane Departure Warning Systems, for example.

This technology is designed to eliminate the blind spot for drivers changing lanes and to prevent potential collisions from happening.

The obvious danger here is that some drivers will no longer feel the need to actually look to check their blind spot and will depend completely on the technology, technology which the insurance industry says need improvement before they can recognize its

value.

Then we can look at Forward Collision Avoidance Systems, which are designed to let the driver know that they are too close the

vehicle ahead of them are about to have a collision.

This technology may give drivers a false sense of security and lead them to take their eyes away from where they should be… on the

road!

I know that we are still years away from self driving cars, but prototypes have been created that can reach speeds of 25 miles

per hour and these vehicles have sensors that allow the vehicle to see roughly 600 feet in all directions.

In my mind, I think that existing technologies with existing drivers needs to be proven to result in fewer accidents themselves, before

we share the road with self driving vehicles.

And one more thing to consider with all this new technology is the cost of replacing and repairing this technology when it has been

damaged in a collision.

For insurance rates go down, the cost of the average repair needs to go down as well.

This is not going to happen when a single sensor costs more than replacing an entire bumper or side door.

The bottom line for drivers is that whatever technology their car may be equipped with, there is no replacement for drivers

themselves, when it comes to having fewer accidents on the road.