The race is on to create autonomous vehicles and while most of us fear the day when there is a mix of self-driving and typical cars on the road, it’s hard to argue with the new technology being offered and what it will mean for the future of driving. As automakers work toward creating the tech and adding the cameras, sensors, and programming that will give us vehicles that can drive themselves, we’re going to continue to be the beneficiaries of advanced safety systems that will help keep us safer in the vehicles we drive.
For many years, the first goal of automakers was to build the safety into a car that would be able to protect you in a crash. This caused an assumption that you would eventually be in a crash and the desire was to build a car that could keep you safer. Today, the technology we have allows us to avoid crashes altogether. Both the NHTSA and IIHS award higher grades for vehicles that offer automated systems that are built to deliver the collision avoidance you want when you’re diving. The safety of the frame and build of the vehicle is still present, but these new electronic systems will also aid in keeping you out of a collision.
When you see the Numbers, You’ll Understand
If you groan and grumble about the increasing price of vehicles offered on the market, you might want to hold your thoughts for a few minutes until you see how the technology offered is already saving lives. It’s no secret that cars are much safer today than they were thirty years ago, that’s a given, but the actual statistics are shocking and certainly worth the added cost to make sure you have the equipment present that will make sure you arrive home safely.
The NHTSA has captured the data regarding crashes that involve fatalities over the past several decades. In 1984, if you ware in a vehicle accident, you were 55 percent likely to be killed in the crash. This doesn’t account for the little fender benders, but for crashes that seriously damage vehicles. By 1993 this number had decreased to 46 percent and vehicles that were built until 1997 held this number. This number continued to decrease over time with 31 percent of occupants being fatally injured in models built between 2008 and 2012, making cars safer than ever.
Today, at least for vehicles that have been built between 2013 and 2017, the fatality rate has dropped to 26 percent which is a full 29 percent decrease since 1984. If you think about these numbers as representing one person per percent, that means 29 families were able to keep members around to live out their lives that wouldn’t have survived a car accident in 1984. Imagine if these were your family members before you complain about the increased price of vehicle safety that’s certainly come a long way. It seems to me, the added safety is worth the cost if it’s going to save a significant number of lives, which is certainly proved by these numbers.
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