Reactions to story from Autoblog

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  This Just In: New on the Net

  http://blog.cardomain.com/blog/2008/04/this-just-in-11.html
  173 days ago in CarDomain Car Blog · Authority: 209

  By Rob Einaudi Editor-in-Chief John is back east attending his sister's wedding. Or at least that's what he said he's doing. So I'm writing New on the Net for the next few days. Here's the news: Some kids couldn't fit a big screen TV in the trunk of
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  IIHS questions the effectiveness of five new safety features

  http://barbarawoodhouse.net/1969/12/31/iihs-questions-the-ef...
  173 days ago in Barbara Woodhouse Car Blog · Authority: 1

  IIHS questions the effectiveness of five new safety features Filed under: Autoblog — Damon Lavrinc @ 11:59 pm Filed under: Safety The view above your left knee in the 2009 Infiniti FX. In the last 24 hours, we've been accosted with more high-tech, in-car wizardry than we've ever asked for. And while you'll have to wait until next week to read our review of the new Infiniti FX, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has weighed in on the top five new safety technologies that may, or may not, have an effect on crash rates. The IIHS studied how blind-spot detection systems, adaptive headlamps, lane-departure warning systems, forward-collision warning systems with automatic braking and emergency brake assist, work and how they may prevent collisions. Of the 2.3 million frontal crashes that take place annually, 7,200 result in a fatality. The proliferation of systems that can detect an imminent frontal collision, sound a warning and if the drive doesn't react, preload all the safety systems and begin applying the brakes may prove useful. The same goes for lane departure warning systems, which notify the driver with a tone if they begin veering out of their lane. Others, like blind-spot detection systems won't have as much affect on road fatalities since they don't account for a substantial amount of fatal crashes, but they'll certainly make people more aware of their surroundings. The IIHS also noted that adaptive headlamps, which turn in conjunction with the wheel to illuminate around a curve, might cause drivers to increase their speed, making a crash more probable. While we don't buy that last one, it highlights the point that's often left out of these studies: driver error is the number one cause of collisions. Fix that and all this added technology is superfluous. [Source: IIHS via Detroit News] Read | Permalink | Email this

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