Unless you are driving one of the oldest cars on the road, you have probably experienced a situation where your car suddenly applied the brakes. Perhaps this stopped you from hitting an approaching car as you backed out of a parking space or rear-ending the car in front of you in stop-and-go traffic on Canal Street in New Orleans. One automatic braking system is better at preventing collisions than an entire car full of backseat drivers, even when all of them are sober and hold valid driver’s licenses. It has probably saved you a lot of money on vehicle repairs. Car technology evolves quickly, and just as, today, we cannot imagine cars without rear-facing cameras, in a few years, today’s automatic braking systems will seem downright primitive, as car manufacturers are always finding ways for cars to get better at figuring out when to brake.  If you have been injured in a car accident where the at-fault driver did not brake in time and the automatic brakes did not come to the rescue, contact a Houma car accident lawyer.

How Effective are Today’s Automatic Braking Systems?

Today’s automatic braking systems (ABS) are pretty good. If your car is from model year 2016 or later, it probably has more than a dozen sensors and cameras that show it where obstacles are present in front of, behind, or beside the car. The current technology is effective at preventing collisions in certain conditions, namely in daylight and when your car is traveling less than 45 miles per hour. In other words, it is good at preventing common types of collisions that usually do not result in catastrophic injuries. ABS can prevent parking lot fender benders and rear-end collisions during rush hour traffic where, just because the nearest traffic light is green, it does not mean that the car ahead of you has room to move. It is no match, however, for the most dangerous driving conditions, such as rain, snow, darkness, and excessive speed.

ABS Will Get Even Better by 2029

New federal regulations have raised the standards for ABS technology. All vehicle manufacturers must comply with the new standards in or before model year 2029. The new ABS standards require the automatic brakes to work at speeds up to 62 miles per hour, which means that they will work even in the fastest city traffic, anywhere that vehicles must stop or adjust their speed frequently. They must also be better at sensing obstacles in low light, such as driving on city streets or in parking lots after dark, and they should also be better at telling the difference between raindrops and true obstacles.

Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey About Car Accident Cases

A car accident lawyer can help you if you have been injured in a car accident where automatic brakes failed to notice an obstacle in time. Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana to set up a consultation about your case.