Car accidents claim the live of thousands of people every single year in the U.S. To try and prevent these fatalities and injury-causing accidents, car manufacturers are hard at work trying to implement safe car technology. The thought is that technology can be used to not only sense an accident is about to occur, but actually reacts in a way that prevents the accident.
Right now Toyota Motor Corp. is testing out car safety systems at the manufacturer's Intelligent Transport System site. The site, which is roughly the size of three football fields, is being used as the test site where sensors and transmitters are put on stop lights. These sensors are able to alert a driver to such things as an approaching red light, pedestrians in a crosswalk, and another vehicle coming toward the intersection from a blind spot.
Intersections were chosen as a main point of focus as Toyota claims half of all accidents happen at intersections.
An example of this type of safe-car technology is that when a driver is approaching a red light, and it does not appear that the driver is preparing to stop for the light, a voice will come on to alert the driver to the fact that he or she is approaching a red light.
Another example would be if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk. The sensor picks up on this and then a beeping sound along with a picture of a pedestrian pops up on a screen in front of the driver.
The thought is that these alerts will result in immediate action on behalf of the driver and therefore prevent the accident from happening.
Looking to the future, it is unknown when this type of safe-car technology will be offered in cars. Other car manufacturers are also planning on offering similar technologies.
Of course, this is all positive news. But, it's important to remember that while these types of technologies may go a long way in preventing accidents, drivers still also have a responsibility while behind the wheel to be paying attention.