

Technology gets blamed for being one of the biggest distractions drivers deal with today. A glance at a text, a scroll through a playlist, a tap to change the GPS, and uh-oh … someone’s car drifts out of the proper lane, putting passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians at risk.
In 2018, distracted driving led to the deaths of 2,841 people, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. So why are carmakers looking to add even more high-tech features to cars?
Experts at Edmunds automotive information service selected five car technologies that they say will reduce distraction for drivers. These new tech tools are designed to produce more focused drivers.
DRIVER MONITORING SYSTEMS
Eyes on the road! BMW, Subaru, and others offer facial-recognition technology inside their vehicles. Cameras measure head and eye movements and recognize if the driver is looking at a phone or falling asleep at the wheel. If such actions are detected, your car will tell you to wake up and drive! In one case, a coffee cup in the dash display lights up if the car’s tech thinks its driver is getting groggy. For cars with advanced cruise control systems, sensors make sure the driver’s hands don’t leave the wheel.
LANE DEPARTURE WARNINGS
Any driving instructor will confirm that our hands tend to follow our eyes. If you’re looking at something on your far left while driving, your car is likely going to drift over the center line, possibly into oncoming traffic! Enter lane-departure warning systems. Sensors track the car’s position. If it strays across lines, the driver might see a new alert in the instrument panel. In some models, a rumble in the driver’s seat rattles the operator back into focus.
LANE KEEPING ASSIST
This feature goes a farther than just calling attention to a lane shift. It takes the extra step of applying a light correction to the steering function—putting the car back in its lane automatically. The driver might feel the wheel tug a bit under his or her hands.
ANDROID AUTO AND APPLE CARPLAY
These two smartphone integration systems come in nearly every new vehicle on the market today. When a driver connects a smartphone to the vehicle, the system displays many of the phone’s apps in its instrument display. Isn’t that more distracting? In some cases, it’s beneficial. Drivers then use hands-free voice controls to hear and respond to text messages, ask for directions, or otherwise communicate without looking at or touching the phone.
LOCKING OUT CONTROLS
Many vehicles from Mazda, Toyota, and Volkswagen still use this older anti-distraction method. These cars will partially lock phone controls while the car is moving so you can’t type on your keyboard. Some won’t even connect to Bluetooth once the car is moving. That must be done before you put ’er in Drive.
Sound like your future car has control issues? Don’t fret. Remember, it’s all done in the name of keeping you—and others—secure, so that you arrive at your destination safely.
This is Mylee
Cool
@ Everyone/2nd comment!!!!!
i think it would scare me if all of a sudden an alarm just went off bc i was shifting lanes.
WHY
Why do I not see ANY Tesla tech, Like, all other companys are going out of buisness, it is a fact, not a question, to electric, cause its cheaper, and better for the enviroment, even if tels a does not win in the electric car markets, which is unlikly, traditional car companys are going under, most people just don't see it yet.
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what r u talking about?
I think alot of these safety
I think alot of these safety precautions are great, but what if someone in the passenger seat needs to text or something? there should be an option to turn it off if there are more than one passengers in the car.
I think think these could be
I think think these could be helpful, but the more gadgets we add could make the car break faster. Know what I mean? (no offense.) The older appliances were made to last and they still work! For instance, I have a dollhouse that is now 10 years old and we haven't changed the battery once and it still works fine! This is just my opinion, but i do think all the little computer chips can break faster.
from us both
btw, what curriculum('s) r u all doing 4 school this year? our list is posted below: (it would b cool some of us were doing the same stuff! btw, we're homeschooled :)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Language Arts: Learning Language Arts Through Literature
History: Sonlight Old World History
Science: Apologia Human Anatomy and Phisology
9th comment
I think that some of these would be helpful at times, but they could get annoying too. Like what if you wanted to pass, or glance at something out the side window. I would get horrible tired of staring straight ahead, two hands gripped on the wheel at all times. What if you needed to scratch? Would it sound the alarm if just one hand was taken off.
Our car has a GPS, but it won
Our car has a GPS, but it won't let you touch or do anything with it while you are driving. You have to be stopped. Fine most of the time, but a little annoying if the passenger wants to look for a restaurant, gas station, new destination, etc.!
!
it sounds dangers i would not like to have a car know what i am doing!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
@Family J
Yeah! I know!
??
i no get what it about
Does anyone else think that
Does anyone else think that this would make you have a reck? Think about: Your’e driving and get to close to the edge then all of a sudden ALERT! ALERT! TO CLOSE TO EDGE!. I mean if that happened to me I would probably swerve and hit the car next to me. It’s almost like we have no control over the car.
That’s so cool!
My dad has one of those things in his car that go “beep, beep, beep!” whenever he crosses the yellow line. When we're on the phone with him, we hear it all the time in the background! One time on the way to a theater for a Christmas play rehearsal (one of my brothers and I were elves), my brother and I started counting out loud. Well, let me tell you, that was a mistake. My dad began swerving in the lane on a really curvy road, and so every time we’d say the next number, it would beep again. No one got in a car accident, and we got home from the theater okay, but still! Eventually, My brother and I stopped counting out loud, and my dad stopped swerving.
Kinda creepy
That's really creepy.
What about Honda?
Can they add that cool feature to Honda cars, too?