How Can Technology Make Driving Safer?

Driving a light truck, or any motor vehicle, comes with special responsibilities. Even with the rise of automated vehicle technologies, you as a driver remain in control of your vehicle. With so many safety technologies available in new vehicles now, it can be confusing to sift through the jargon to find out what they can – and cannot – do to help you drive more safely.

Of course, regardless of what kind of technology you have in your vehicle, you as the driver are ultimately in control. There is still no substitute for a real person behind the wheel, with hands, eyes and brain fully engaged in driving. Technology moves fast, but fully self-driving vehicles are still somewhere in the future. You may have heard of different levels of automation for vehicles, but it’s not always clear what they mean. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) has created a Levels of Driving Automation Standard used by USDOT and other organizations around the world to clarify what different vehicles can and cannot do.

Right now, there are no Level 4 or 5 highly or fully automated vehicles for sale in the United States, and Level 3 vehicles are only available in very limited circumstances. Everything you can buy as a consumer requires keeping your hands on the wheel in order to be safe. And with the average vehicle on US roads being close to 13 years old, it’s safe to assume that most drivers around you have no automation or only basic driver assistance systems. So, you’re still in charge – but Advanced Driver Assistance Systems can help you drive more safely.