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Car Safety

Features

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Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3

Forward Collision Prevention .................................................................................................. 4

Breaking, Tyre Pressure & Anti-Rollover ................................................................................. 5

Lane & Side Assisting .............................................................................................................. 6

Parking & Backing Assistance .................................................................................................. 6

Driver State Monitoring & Communication ............................................................................. 7

Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................................... 8

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Introduction

In the past few years, the world of driving safety has changed rapidly with new car safety technologies being added to

cars faster than ever before and safety systems that have been around for years are getting smarter. But what are

these features? What do they do? And does your car have them?

Nearly every car on the road today has safety features that can help drivers be safer. You may already know some of

these, and some you may not even realise your car has. Many of the features are not yet standardised and may differ

from one manufacturer to another. Be sure to check the owner’s manual to find out more information on your car’s

safety features.

We, at Jensen Fleet Solutions Ltd, have put together a guide to some of the main safety features available on cars to

help you understand what they are and what they do. This should help you with your current car and when you’re

looking at buying or leasing a new vehicle.

This is not a fully comprehensive guide but a summary of safety features available, for more detailed information on

car safety and safe driving please view the following websites:

Road Safety Authority

AA Ireland

Euro NCAP

SIMI

NCT

It’s important to remember that while automation can help reduce the driver workload in some situations but it is not

a substitute for the driver and does not mean that the driver can stop thinking.

Who We Are

At Jensen Fleet Solutions we believe what makes a great Fleet company is the personalised service, that we will be

there every step of the way to manage the contract, build relationships and retain our customers. We are extremely

proud of the service we provide and the fact that over the past 2 years we have seen a retention rate of 95% speaks

volumes as to how we treat our customers.

No matter what road you find yourself on, we at Jensen Fleet Solutions are here to get you where you want to be.

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Forward Collision Prevention Collision Prevention and Mitigation

Anti-Lock Braking System

Active Bonnet Electronic Brake Assist

Forward Collision Warning

Adaptive Headlights Pedestrian Detection

Traction Control Automatic Emergency Braking

Speeding

Intelligent Speed Assistance

Headlights & Vision

Adaptive Headlights Automatic Headlights

Automatic High Beam

Daytime Running Lights

Night Vision

Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror

Cruise Control

Adaptive Cruise Control

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Breaking, Tyre Pressure & Anti-Rollover Breaking & Anti-Rollover

Anti-Lock Braking System

Automatic Emergency Braking

Electronic Brake Assist

Electronic Stability Control

Traction Control

Terrain & Wheel Information

Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

Road Surface Warning

Hill Assistance

Hill Descent Assist Hill Start Assist

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Lane & Side Assisting Lane Assisting

Lane Departure Warning

Lane Keeping Assist

Side Assisting

Blind Spot Monitor Side View Camera

Parking & Backing Assistance Backing Assistance

Back-Up Camera Back-Up Warning

Parking Assistance

Automatic Parallel Parking

Parking Sensors

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Driver State Monitoring & Communication Driver Communication Support

Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

Intelligent Speed Assistance

Traffic Road Sign Recognition

Road Surface Warning

Seatbelt Reminder

Driver State Monitoring & Assistance

Attention Assist

Other Driver & Passenger Support & Safety

Push Button Start Airbags ISOFIX Automatic Emergency Call

Start-Stop System

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Active Bonnet Designed to enhance pedestrian safety, sensors are placed in the front of the car, and when they detect a collision, the rear portion of the bonnet is raised to better absorb the impact with the pedestrian.

Adaptive Cruise Control Adaptive cruise control can increase or decrease your car’s speed to maintain a following distance that you set. Advanced versions can even slow and stop your car in traffic jams, then accelerate for you. One or more sensors read the road ahead of you for traffic. They are capable of reading and responding to any cars that are in front of you in your lane.

Adaptive Headlights Adaptive Headlights are an active safety feature designed to make driving at night or in low-light conditions safer by increasing visibility around curves and over hills.

Airbags The airbag is a vehicle safety device that consists of an inflatable bag, also known as an airbag cushion. The airbag module is designed to inflate rapidly during a collision and provide the occupants with additional protection and restraint during a crash. Airbags provide an energy absorbing surface between the occupants and at the interior of the cars. Airbags are normally installed to protect in case of a frontal collision (frontal airbags) and lateral (side) collision (side curtain airbags and/or

torax airbags). Also knee airbags and seatbelt airbags are available in some cars. It’s important to remember that airbags are only efficient if seatbelts are worn.

Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS) Anti-Lock Braking Systems are designed to help the driver maintain some steering ability and avoid skidding while braking. Wheel sensors detect when your car’s tyres begin locking up, then they rapidly apply and release the brakes to automatically keep your tyres from skidding.

Attention Assist Also known as drowsiness detection system, this warns drivers and helps to prevent them from falling asleep momentarily whilst driving. It will prompt drivers to take a break before it’s too late. Some systems use a sensitive steering angle sensor to monitor the way in which the driver is controlling the car. Other systems use a forward looking camera to monitor the vehicle position in the lane and calculate a vigilance level for the driver.

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Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirrors Senses ambient light and then fine-tunes the glass’s tine, reducing the glare from headlights of the vehicle behind you.

Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) AEB helps the driver avoid (or reduce) a crash and its consequences. Different sensor technologies can be used to identify critical situations ahead, including radar and camera. The system can warn the driver and provide brake support or fully auto-brake the car without driver involvement.

Automatic Emergency Call Automatic emergency call uses your GPS phone system so cars can send an automatic call to a dedicated monitoring service in case of an accident. Your phone usually needs to be connected to the cars Bluetooth for this to work.

Automatic Headlights A light sensor tells the car computer if it is dark, the car then will turn on the lights whenever the sensors senses that it is dark enough. You must have the car switch set for automatic headlights for this to work.

Automatic High Beam An automatic high beam detects nearby light sources, such as headlights or tail lights of vehicles ahead. The system then automatically switches between high beams and low beams to ensure optimum night-time visibility. If other vehicles are nearby or high beams are inappropriate, the system will automatically switch to low beams so as not to dazzle oncoming drivers.

Automatic Parallel Parking Automatic parallel parking helps guide you into a parallel parking spot after searching and finding a viable option. Remember, you hare still responsible for braking and monitoring your environment.

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B Back-Up Camera

After you shift your car into reverse, the back-up (or rear view) camera activates to show you what is behind your car. The display screen may be found on your centre console, but it differs depending on make and model. The system works simply, a camera, usually mounted on the rear of your vehicle, shows a view of the area behind you. Some systems incorporate lines to show you your backing path in the display. Your system may also make warning sounds if you are close to something behind you.

Back-Up Warning The back-up warning feature scans behind your car when you shift it into reverse. It will then let you know, through a sound, vibration or mix of both, if there’s an object or car directly behind you.

Blindspot Monitor This feature will warn you if a car – or sometimes other objects – are in your left or right blindspot. Warnings will appear in your sideview mirrors or in the windshield frame. Some advanced versions may also give you an audio warning if you use your turn signal and there is a vehicle in your blindspot.

D Daytime Running Lights

Designed to come on when automatically when the engine is started, daytime running lights must be bright enough that they can be seen clearly in daylight. As a result, they are too bright to be used at night time and should go off automatically when headlights or sidelights are switched on.

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E Electronic Brake Assist (EBA)

EBA is an automobile technology that increases braking pressure in an emergency. If the system notices the driver slamming on the brake pedal, it applies maximum force to the brakes to help make sure the car stops as quickly as possible.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Also called electronic stability program (ESP), this is a computerised technology that improves a vehicle’s stability by detecting and reducing loss of traction (skidding). It helps prevent loss of control when driving around curves and in emergency steering manoeuvres by stabilising your car when it begins to veer off your intended path.

Euro NCAP Established in 1997, Euro NCAP is composed of seven European Governments as well as motoring and consumer organisations in every European country. It provides consumers with an independent assesment of the safety levels of the most popular cars in Europe. Euro NCAP created the five-star safety rating system to help consumers compare vehicles more easily and to help them identify the safest choice for their needs. The number of stars

reflects how well the car performs in Euro NCAP tests, but it is also influenced by what safety equipment the vehicle manufacturer is offering each market. So a high number of stars shows not only that the test result was good, but also that safety equipment on the tested model is readily available to all consumers in Europe. When looking up a cars star rating, its important to look out for the latest results as the latest star rating is always the most relevant. For more information on Euro NCAP’s safety ratings, visit www.euroncap.com/en

F Forward Collision Warning

This feature can alert you of an impending collision with a slower moving or stationary vehicle in front of you.

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H Hill Descent Assist

Hill decent assist/control, when activated, allows a smooth and controlled hill descent without the driver needing to touch the brake pedal.

Hill Start Assist The system prevents the car from rolling away when trying to pull away on an up or down gradient, simulating a ‘handbrake hill start’ that manual drivers will be familiar with.

I Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA)

Intelligent Speed Assistance systems work in various ways including the following:

Informing the driver on the present speed limit

Warning the driver when the car’s speed is about the set speed threshold

Actively preventing the car from exceeding the set speed threshold

Curve speed warning warns you when you’re approaching a curve or exit on the road too quickly

Cruise control with speed limiter, allows the driver to set a maximum speed limit anywhere between 2- and 110 km/h. The big different with speed limiter and cruise control is that cruise control maintains a constant speed

ISOFIX Isofix is the international standard for attachment points for child safety seats in passenger cars. It gives you the safest, easiest and quickest way to fit a child car seat correctly, without using a seat belt.

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L Lane Departure Warning

Lane departure warning can help alert you to drive back to the centre of your lane if you mistakenly drift, helping to prevent you from being in a crash.

Lane Keeping Assist This feature can also help you return to your lane if you drift out, helping to prevent a collision. It relies on painted line markings to operate. Some versions of this feature may also help prevent you from driving off the road.

N Night Vision

Night vision technology presents the view ahead in a separate display, allowing you to see objects better at night. However, drivers shouldn’t rely on night vision systems fully to help them drive, they should be used only for quick glances to allow drivers to see more in front of them as they drive at night.

P Parking Sensors

Parking sensors help you when parking your car by alerting you to the position of objects around your car as you park. These alerts can be audio warnings as well as visual with the use of rear, front or side view cameras.

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Pedestrian Detection Pedestrian detection sensors are capable of detecting the subtler and slower movements of people, warning the driver and helping to prevent a collision involving pedestrians.

Push Button Start Push button start makes turning your car on and off as simple and pressing a button. The system uses a unique signal to activate only when your key fob is on or within a few feet of you. Only the signal from your key fob will allow you to turn on your car.

R Road Surface Warning

This provides you with updates about upcoming roadway conditions such as black ice. It uses temperature readings along with other information to help warn drivers when roads are or may become icy.

S Seatbelt Reminder

Seatbelt Reminder is a safety system that warns the driver and passengers if their seatbelts aren’t fastened. The warning can be audio or visual, and will stay on until the driver or passenger fastens their seatbelt. Some vehicles may only warn people in the front seats while others will warn of both the front and rear seats.

Side View Cameras Side view cameras, mounted in the front bumper or wing, will give you a clear view up and down the road as you edge out of a junction, even if your own line-of-sight is obscured. Drivers should still be aware and check all mirrors and as well as their blind spots before moving off.

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Start-Stop System A start-stop system automatically shuts down and restarts the engine to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idling, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. This is great for cars which spend a significant amount of time waiting at traffic lights or in traffic jams. The car restarts automatically once the driver presses on the accelerator.

T Traction Control

Traction control systems optimise the grip and stability of the car on the road during acceleration by measuring wheel rotation. It prevents wheel spin by reducing engine power or temporarily applying the brakes to that wheel, allowing the car to accelerate smoothly, even on slippery surfaces. It provides a lot of benefits to drivers, from making driving smoother to helping them stay in control of the car on icy roads or during rainy weather.

Traffic Road Sign Recognition Traffic road sign recognition is a driver support function where the vehicle is able to recognise the traffic signs on the road and then notify and warn the driver, eg “speed limit”, “turn ahead”, “no overtaking”, etc.

Tyre Pressure Monitor Tyre pressure monitoring systems monitor our tyres’ pressures and warn you if you have one or more under-inflated tyres. Some versions can also detect over-inflation. There are two main types of tyre pressure monitoring systems sensors; direct sensors are small wireless devices inside each tyre, which report the tyre’s pressure to your dashboard, and indirect sensors work by measuring wheel spin and can only tell if the tyre’s pressure is low.

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