Safety

How Vehicle Safety Systems Prevent Car Crashes

To keep people safe in their vehicles, automakers are developing new active technology that’s designed to prevent accidents. This tech gear is being added to everything from tiny compact cars to behemoth SUVs. As more of these systems reach the market, the complexity of them can make it difficult to understand what they do. Here’s a list of the latest vehicle safety features and a desc

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Better Protection for Rear-Seat Passengers

After reviewing 117 car accidents in the United States, the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released a report stating that it intended to subject car manufacturers to a new crash test, one that will assess how safe a vehicle is for backseat passengers.The review determined that backseat passengers are more likely to be injured or killed than front seat passengers in a front crash collision. In

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Driverless: The Rise of the Autonomous Vehicle

At the beginning of self-driving vehicle production, these autonomous critters could be seen only near the Silicon Valley companies who brought them into being. Today, they are seen all over the country. The autonomous vehicle project is ramping up in places such as Miami, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. Other locations include Grand Rapids, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; and the Lone Star State. Even little bitt

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Can Robot Cars Perform as Effectively as Humans?

The craze surrounding robotic cars is ramping up. However, they are not yet as safe or effective as human drivers. Driver-less vehicles undergoing testing on public roads are aggravatingly slow, over-the-top cautions and likely to stop completely if anything unrecognized appears within its radar. Although the manufacturers are aware of this problem, there is not much that can be done at this point

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Ford and Its Carbon Monoxide Problem

Ford Motor Co. is facing pressure from the Center for Auto Safety due to reported carbon monoxide leaks. In fact, the agency is demanding that the company recall 1.3 million Explorers. In a letter addressed to Jim Hackett, the company’s CEO, the Center for Auto Safety reminded the car company that July 2, 2018, was the second anniversary of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration&

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GM Still Working Toward Completing 2014 Recalls

General Motors recalled 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other small cars all over the globe for faulty ignition switches in 2014. Since then, it has taken on the difficult task of finding these vehicles with potentially hazardous ignition switches. This is challenging as most of these vehicles were old enough to have switched hands at least once or twice. Once found, GM had to convi

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Honda Goes Extra Mile to Close Out Airbag Recalls

Recalls are something no auto manufacturer wants to deal with. They can face bad press, finger pointing, or even be accused of endangering lives. However, Honda found an effective way to take the proverbial bull by the horns to deal with the latest recall. It took this company a while to fully appreciate the scope of the problem with the compromised Takata airbag inflators. Although once they did,

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Motor Matters | Buying a Car? Bottom Line, Check Your Bottom

A friend is deciding whether she will buy a new car or pour money into her older model. She's very unhappy with her current front driver seat and that, along with her current car's $1,700 repair estimate, is compelling her to shop for a new car. "The seat back does not support my back -- the bottom cushion padding is inadequate to give proper support. I get searing pain, especially in my left hip

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Safer Vehicle Designs May Reduce Pedestrian Fatalities

America’s high level of pedestrian fatalities is due, in part, to how streets and vehicles are designed. Within the last 10 years, European automotive safety regulators have placed a high focus on improving the levels of pedestrian safety. The United States, on the other hand, is slightly behind on this trend in protecting those sharing the roads with vehicles. Equipment such as seat belts,

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Waymo Partners with Insurance Firm to Cover Autonomous Vehicle Riders

Insurance startup company Trov is now partnering with Waymo, a descendant of Google, to give trip-based insurance coverage to riders who are in autonomous vehicles. This partnership was announced in December of 2017 and is making history with one of the first attempts to get insurance practices on board with mobility service insurance instead of driver insurance.Trov and Waymo intend to provide lo

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