If you've ever driven a car on a featureless highway, you probably know the feeling of zoning out behind the wheel. You may have even found yourself wishing the car could drive itself.
Compared to modern electronic sensors, we humans have pretty slow reaction times. The purpose of brake assist and its related technologies is to help us stop our vehicles sooner and faster. Those critical seconds -- usually fractions of a second -- can mean the difference between a crash and a close call.
This technology allows brake assist to stop cars much more quickly and effectively than the unaided driver can do alone. With power brakes and anti-lock brakes on the scene, why would a driver need any more help stopping his or her car?
Let's go through another brake assist-aided stop..
You're traveling down a deserted country road on a moonless night, with the forest seemingly closing in on either side. Your high beams throw off barely enough light for you to comfortably drive the speed limit. Suddenly, a family of deer comes loping onto the pavement a few hundred feet ahead.
Active Brake Assist is a newer technological development that loads the brakes with hydraulic pressure milliseconds before an impending crash. This helps deliver more stopping power to the brakes even sooner
You don't have to be an automotive visionary to realize that with a little fine-tuning or perhaps some more processing power, these technologies collectively could eventually lead to cars that drive themselves. That could cut down drastically on collisions. That sounds great, but are people ready to surrender control of their vehicle to a computer in exchange for greater safety? In many cultures, cars and trucks are still associated with the freedom of personal mobility and a sense of personal control. What is fairly certain, though, is that technologies like brake assist, made possible by quick-thinking electronics, will continue to make driving a much safer proposition.
Compared to modern electronic sensors, we humans have pretty slow reaction times. The purpose of brake assist and its related technologies is to help us stop our vehicles sooner and faster. Those critical seconds -- usually fractions of a second -- can mean the difference between a crash and a close call.
This technology allows brake assist to stop cars much more quickly and effectively than the unaided driver can do alone. With power brakes and anti-lock brakes on the scene, why would a driver need any more help stopping his or her car?
Let's go through another brake assist-aided stop..
You're traveling down a deserted country road on a moonless night, with the forest seemingly closing in on either side. Your high beams throw off barely enough light for you to comfortably drive the speed limit. Suddenly, a family of deer comes loping onto the pavement a few hundred feet ahead.
As your foot instinctively clamps down on the brake pedal, a sensor immediately knows, by the speed and pressure of your foot on the pedal, that this is an emergency. Within a fraction of a second, the brake assist system signals the brakes to direct maximum clamping power to the brake calipers. The pedal pulses as its anti-lock braking system(ABS) kicks in, working in concert with the brake assist. The vehicle remains under control as it decelerates and stops far short of the crossing deer. No animals are harmed - - and your insurance premium escapes equally unscathed.
Brake assist has proven so effective in reducing accidents that the European Commission (EC) plans to make the technology mandatory on all new vehicles sold in Europe. The EC has estimated the technology could save 1,100 pedestrian lives each year if all cars in Europe were equipped with this feature. Like stability control and anti-lock braking system(ABS) , brake assist appears to be one of those technologies that was once reserved for higher-end cars, yet will eventually become a standard feature on all vehicles
There's some evidence out there to support this as well: The IIHS "Future Vehicles" report studied five relatively new car safety features, including brake assist, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, blind spot detection and adaptive headlights. If all cars were equipped with all five of these features, they could potentially prevent 3.4 million crashes a year - - including 20,777 deaths -- according to the Institute's study.
You don't have to be an automotive visionary to realize that with a little fine-tuning or perhaps some more processing power, these technologies collectively could eventually lead to cars that drive themselves. That could cut down drastically on collisions. That sounds great, but are people ready to surrender control of their vehicle to a computer in exchange for greater safety? In many cultures, cars and trucks are still associated with the freedom of personal mobility and a sense of personal control. What is fairly certain, though, is that technologies like brake assist, made possible by quick-thinking electronics, will continue to make driving a much safer proposition.
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