If you have seen any car adverts lately, you’ll notice manufacturers love to boast about their vehicle’s safety features. There’s nothing wrong with that. Many of these features have done a lot to save lives and reduce crash injuries.
Yet people need to understand that they are just an additional help. The key to safety still lies with the driver and the decisions they make. Here are a few safety features that people sometimes overestimate
Forward collision warning
This will beep or flash if it senses you are in danger of crashing into something in front. Yet, it won’t brake for you.
Automatic emergency braking
Again, this won’t guarantee you won’t crash into something. Think of it as additional help with braking rather than a replacement for your foot on the pedal. Your ability to stop in time will always come down to noticing you need to brake early enough to do so safely. If you are distracted, it may already be too late by the time you realize the car in front of you has slowed.
Traction control
As with four-wheel drive, there are limits to how much your car can do to keep you on the road. If you throttle around a bend on an icy morning, don’t blame your vehicle if you end up in a ditch.
While those safety features are good and could help you avoid a crash, you wouldn’t need them if everyone drove more carefully. The most powerful tool available to drivers is their brain, and using it costs nothing. A driver who doesn’t could injure you, causing massive costs for which you will need compensation.
