Demystifying Safety Features in Cars… By Auto Maker
Connie Peters
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Safety features are designed to help you drive better. If they don’t drive you nuts.
They beep. They buzz. They light up and flash. They take some of the weight off the driver when it comes to safety features in cars and sometimes they jump right in and take the wheel. Advanced safety technologies are more and more common, many of them as standard equipment on new cars.
But auto makers can give them fancy-schmancy names that can be confusing. How do you know what you’re getting? Even the list of standard and advanced safety features can confound. So, we decide to break it down for you so you (and we, because, hey, there is a lot) know what they mean. Then, read on for a brand-by-brand look at what is offer in each new car.
Basic Safety Features
These are included in most new vehicles now:
TRACTION CONTROL
Traction control limits wheel spin on slippery surfaces when driving in a straight line.
VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL
Vehicle stability control helps maintain control when turning on slippery surfaces.
REAR-VIEW CAMERA
A rear-view supplements your vision when in reverse. All vehicles built from May 2018 on must, by-law, have a back-up camera.
TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM
A tire pressure monitoring system alerts you when it senses low pressure in one of your tires.
DOWNHILL ASSIST CONTROL
Downhill Assist Control helps the vehicle maintain stability on steep downgrades at low speeds by controlling the speed and preventing the brakes from locking.
HILL START ASSIST CONTROL
The hill start assist helps prevent the vehicle from rolling backward when starting off on an incline.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKES
ABS helps prevent brakes from locking up by “pulsing” brake pressure to each wheel to help you stay in control in emergency braking situations.
Advanced Safety Features in Cars
BLIND SPOT MONITOR
The blind spot monitor indicates on your side-view mirrors with a light and/or sound when there is a vehicle in your blind spot and you’ve put your turn signal on.
REAR CROSS TRAFFIC ALERT
The rear cross-traffic alert alerts you of rear cross-traffic and helps to avoid collisions when backing up.
BRAKE ASSIST
Brake Assist is designed to detect sudden or “panic” braking and then add the full pressure needed to help prevent a collision.
PARKING ASSIST
A parking assist system uses sensors mounted around the vehicle to detect obstacles close by and alerts you with an audible signal.
INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL – ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL – DYNAMIC RADAR CRUISE CONTROL
Whatever the manufacturer is calling it, this means the vehicle is measuring the distance from the vehicle ahead and controls acceleration and deceleration to automatically maintain a suitable following distance.
COLLISION MITIGATION/DETECTION SUPPORT – FORWARD EMERGENCY BRAKING – PRE-COLLISION SYSTEM
Collision mitigation means that radar is detecting possible pedestrians, cyclists, and structures and stopped or slowing vehicles ahead and will audibly warn you and ultimately brake for you automatically. This system’s functionality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
LANE DEPARTURE WARNING/ALERT
Lane departure and lane-keep assist will alert you if you start to drift out of your lane when there are clear lane markings, road edges or curbs.
LANE KEEPING ASSIST or LANE TRACE ASSIST
The lane keep assist or steering assist function will also provide small corrective steering inputs if Lane Keep Assist or Steering Assist
AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAMS
Automatic high beams can switch between high and low beams for you depending on oncoming and preceding cars’ lights and depending on the circumstances.
ELECTRONIC BRAKE DISTRIBUTION
When coupled with Anti-lock brakes, the Electronic Brake Distribution system helps keep the vehicle more stable and balanced when braking.
SIGN RECOGNITION
When your vehicle passes a speed limit sign, a camera sees it and displays the speed limit on your dash screen and/or head-up display.
INTELLIGENT REARVIEW MIRROR
This feature turns your rearview mirror into a camera screen, giving you a vivid, wide-angle view, day or night.
ADAPTIVE FRONT LIGHTING
At night, your headlights move in the direction that you’re turning by up to 15 degrees.
So, what brands are incorporating these features and what do they call them?
TOYOTA
STAR SAFETY SYSTEM
Toyota includes the Star Safety System as standard equipment in their vehicles. This includes:
- Anti-lock brakes
- Brake Assist
- Traction control
- Stability control
- Electronic Brake Distribution
TOYOTA SAFETY SENSE (TSS)
Toyota Safety Sense is standard on almost all Toyota models and trims and includes:
- Pre-collision system with pedestrian detection
- Lane departure alert
- Automatic high beams
- Lane trace assist
- Dynamic radar cruise control
Toyota also has advanced or upgraded versions of this called TSSC (for compact cars) and TSSP (for larger SUVs).
Further Reading: Why we love the Toyota Avalon Hybrid
The impressively adventurous side profile of the Honda Passport. Photo: Connie Peters
HONDA + ACURA
All Honda vehicles have the following safety features:
- Stability control
- Traction control
- Anti-lock brakes
- Electronic Brake Distribution
- Brake Assist
Not all vehicles in the Honda lineup include all of Honda Sensing safety features, but many do include some or all of them.
- Lane Keeping Assist
- Adaptive Cruise Control
- Forward Collision Warning
- Collision Mitigation Braking System
- Cross-traffic warning
- Sign recognition
A Honda safety feature not available on any other brand that we know of (and we love it!) is LaneWatch.
LANE WATCH
When your right turn signal is on, the camera on the passenger side mirror will turn on and display live video of the right side of the car on your display touch-screen. It has nearly four times more visibility than the average passenger-side mirror.
The Subaru Outback we test drove and muddied. ?Scotty Reiss
Subaru EyeSight
Designed to work like the human eye, the Subaru system combines dual color cameras that converge on objects like the road ahead to detect things the way you would. The system includes:
- Adaptive cruise control
- Lane keep assist
- Pre-collision braking
- Pre-collision throttle management, which manages speed to reduce impact
NISSAN
Nissan Intelligent Safety Shield technologies on most Nissan models include some or all:
- Emergency brake system (collision mitigation) with pedestrian detection
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Intelligent rearview mirror
- Multiple-angle backup camera
- Intelligent (adaptive) cruise control
- Tire pressure monitoring system (standard on all Nissan models)
- Reverse automatic braking
- Traction control
- Stability control
- Anti-lock brakes and brake force distribution
- Brake assist
INTELLIGENT DRIVER ALERTNESS
This system monitors your steering patterns. Should the system detect any unusual steering activity (indicating driver fatigue), it will alert you audibly with a chime, and visually by lighting a coffee cup icon on your display, letting you know it may be time for a break.
PROPILOT ASSIST:
- Adaptive speed control
- Lane keep and lane departure assist
- Brake assist
Nissan ProPilot Assist is available on Rogue, Rogue Sport, Leaf and Ultima models.
Further Reading: The Nissan Altima AWD test drive
Classic lines of the GMC Terrain. ?: Connie Peters
GMC & CHEVROLET
GMC doesn’t put a packaged name on their safety features but you can see exactly which features are included in each vehicle model and trim here for GMC and here for Chevrolet. https://www.gmc.com/safety-features
GMC offers these features in many of their model lineups:
- High Definition rear vision (backup) camera
- Rear Camera vision on the rearview mirror
- Forward collision alert and emergency braking including pedestrian detection
- Front and rear park assist
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane departure warning
- Safety alert seat (seat vibrates under your legs when trying to alert you versus audible alerts)
- Adaptive cruise control
- Rear Camera mirror
- Rear seat occupant alert
Teen Driver is available on select Chevrolet and GMC Vehicles as well:
Teen Driver offers a number of safety functionalities:
- They’ll have ot buckle their seat belt before they can shift out of Park
- Muting audio until front-seat occupants are buckled
- Automatically turning on available active safety technologies
- The in-vehicle report card shows information about your teen’s driving so you can identify potential problem areas and coach your new driver on improvements
- Setting speed warnings for them while they drive
MAZDA
i-ActiveSense
The Mazda i-Activesense group of technologies includes:
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Adaptive front lighting
- Lane departure alert
- Automatic high beams
- Radar (adaptive) cruise control
- Emergency braking
Not all features are available on all new Mazda models, so be sure to ask your dealer or do your research while you test drive to see what features are available in the model you’re considering.
Corsair is perfect for cosmopolitan living. ?: Connie Peters
FORD + LINCOLN
Ford calls their two groups of safety features Ford Co-Pilot360 and Safe & Smart. Both packages come with various advanced safety features you’ll want:
Safe & Smart
Safe & Smart is a group of standard safety features with Ford:
- Front Rain-Sensing Wipers
- Auto High Beam Headlamps
- BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) With Cross-Traffic Alert10
- Lane Keeping Assist
- Adaptive Cruise Control and Forward Collision Warning with Brake Support
- Auto-Dimming Rearview Mirror
Available in 2019 Mustang, Escape, and Explorer. Also available in 2018 Mustang, Escape, Edge.
Co-Pilot360 is an advanced suite of standard Driver Assist Technologies:
- Auto High Beam Headlamps
- BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) With Cross-Traffic Alert
- Lane Keeping Assist
- Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking
- Rearview camera
Co-Pilot360 Assist Plus includes all of the above features plus:
- Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go
- Evasive Steering Assist
- Lane Centering
- Voice-activated Navigation System
- Emergency braking
- Auto parallel parking
Available in select 2019 Fusion, Edge and Ranger and many Lincoln models.
Further Reading: All New 2020 Lincoln Corsair Drive
KIA
Kia doesn’t give a packaged name to its advanced safety features but has the following features available on some or all of their vehicle lineup:
- Backup Camera
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Parking sensors
- Forward collision warning and brake assist
- Blind-spot detection and warning
- Lane departure warning + lane-keeping assist
- Driver attention warning
- Hill-start assist
- Tire pressure monitoring
- Stability control
- Downhill brake control
The 2020 Hyundai Palisade has room for 8, so you might need the roof rack and 5,000 lbs of tow capacity. Photo: Scotty Reiss
HYUNDAI
Hyundai calls its safety suite SmartSense. It’s a group of technologies not available on all models, but plenty of them.
SmartSense:
- Forward collision assist
- Blindspot detection
- Driver attention warning
- Lane keep assist
- Automatic high beams
- Rear seat occupant alert
- Smart parallel parking assist
- Adaptive cruise control
Safe Exit Alert
This safety feature, which we’ve only seen on Hyundai, is for when you’re parallel parked and the vehicle detects an approaching vehicle from behind, it will not allow your child to exit the back seats, and even override the child safety lock feature.
CHRYSLER, DODGE, JEEP
FCA doesn’t give a packaged name to its advanced safety features but has the following features available on some or all of their vehicle lineup:
- Forward Collision brake warning with Active Braking
- Lane Departure and Lane Keep Assist
- Adaptive Cruise Control with Start-Stop (on specific models)
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic warning
- Parallel and perpendicular parking assist
BMW
Most BMW models have all basic safety features, some models and trims include advanced features such is:
BMW Driving Assistant includes:
MERCEDES-BENZ
Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive includes a suite of features including:
- Lane-keeping assist
- Active blind-spot monitoring
- Pre-collision mitigation with pedestrian detection
- “PRESAFE”: This system can detect when a collision is about to occur based on conditions such as extreme skidding and braces the car for impact. It can tighten the seat belts, adjust the front head restraints, closes the windows and sunroof, and more. All of this allows for the most effective results from the vehicle’s restraint systems.
- Active Brake Assist: Emergency braking
- ATTENTION ASSIST: This system tracks more than 70 parameters in the first few minutes that a driver hits the road, and it senses different factors as your drive goes on to determine driver fatigue, at which point ATTENTION ASSIST alerts you and encourages you to stop for a break
VOLVO
Intellisafe is standard on all new Volvo Cars and includes:
- Oncoming lane mitigation
- Run off-road mitigation
- Lane-keeping Aid
- Driver alert control
- Road-sign assist
- Adaptive cruise control
Intelisafe Surround is the next level up and includes:
- Blindspot information with steering assist
- Cross-traffic alert with auto brake
- Rear collision warning
A side view of the VW Atlas Cross Sport. ? Scotty Reiss
Volkswagen + Audi
Volkswagen doesn’t bundle their advanced safety features by name, but some or all VW’s have these features available:
- Adaptive cruise control with start/stop
- Front autonomous emergency braking
- Lane assist
- Pedestrian detection
Audi offers:
- Audi pre sense® (forward collision detection)
- Adaptive cruise control
- Traffic jam assist
- Night vision assistant, which uses thermal technology to detect pedestrians at night
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. ?: Erica Mueller
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi offers advanced safety features such as:
- Adaptive cruise control
- Blindspot warning
- Lane change assist
- cross-traffic alert
- Forward collision mitigation with pedestrian detection,
- Lane departure warning
- Automatic high beam
The spacey interior of the Tesla Model X. ?: Connie Peters
TESLA
Tesla made it well know they offer ‘Autopilot’ mode. But what does this even mean? It’s really just a set of advanced safety features offered by other vehicle brands (as listed above) as well.
- Cruise follow distance settings (1-3) on adaptive cruise control
- Forward Collision Warning
- Lane departure avoidance
- Blind-spot warning
- Automatic emergency braking
- Forward ‘obstacle-aware’ acceleration
- Side collision warning
- Auto high beams
Part of what Autopilot means is future capability, with an emphasis on FUTURE. Tesla allows for future software upgrades and existing hardware that may be able to allow for completely autonomous driving including
- 8 outward cameras around the vehicle
- To make sense of all of the data, an onboard computer with over 40 times the computing power of the previous generation runs the new Tesla-developed neural net for vision, sonar and radar processing software. Together, this system provides a view of the world that a driver alone cannot access, seeing in every direction simultaneously, and on wavelengths that go far beyond the human senses.
- Navigation
- Auto-steer
- Summon (your vehicle may come get you in a parking lot)
- Full self-driving capability
So there you have it. All of the current standard and advanced safety (and even future) features. So now you know what’s beeping at you and why.
