Do Not Disable These Important Auto Safety Features!

As our personal injury lawyers at Aronberg & Aronberg know, every year, the available safety technology in cars and SUVs gets better and better. From the standardization of backup cameras and motion sensors to lane departure warnings and blind spot detectors, safety fixtures in modern cars are preventing accidents, avoiding injuries, and saving lives. So, please think twice before you disable these important auto safety features!

A recent report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (the “IIHS,” a private organization funded by the insurance industry) states that these technological improvements are working. In particular, though their flashing, buzzing and/or vibrating might seem annoying to some, the use of (1) lane departure warnings and (2) blind spot detectors in cars significantly reduce the risk of crashes, including those which result in injuries and fatalities to drivers, passengers, and others on the road.

sports car BMW - Auto Safety Features

The Leading Top 2 Auto Safety Features

The IIHS report shows that lane departure warnings—which use sounds or vibrations to alert drivers when their car drifts out of its lane—lower the rate of single-vehicle, head-on and sideswipe crashes by 11% and reduces the rates of injury crashes of the same types by an impressive 21%. In other words, as our personal injury lawyers know, in 2015 for example, if all passenger vehicles had been equipped with lane departure warning systems, roughly 85,000 crashes and more than 55,000 injuries would have likely been avoided. Unfortunately, a recent survey conducted by the IIHS revealed that in vehicles equipped with “crash avoidance features,” lane maintenance systems were disabled roughly half the time.

Auto Safety Statistics

Credit: ZAutos.com

Our injury lawyers know that use of blind spot warnings—Auto safety accident attorneys Aronberg & Aronbergwhich alerts drivers when a vehicle is next to them but in their blind spot—reduces the rate of all crashes caused by lane changes by 14% and the rate of lane-change crashes resulting in injuries by 23%. According to the VP of Research for the IIHS, “if every passenger vehicle on the road were equipped with blind spot detection as effective as the systems we studied, about 50,000 police-reported crashes a year could be prevented.”

As an experienced personal injury law team, we are dedicated to making sure you stay as safe as possible, especially when you are out on the road, which we know from experience can be a dangerous place. As such, we cannot stress enough just how important it is not to disable these technical aspects of your motor vehicle. These safety features were placed in your car for a reason—to help you avoid crashes and keep you safe. As our legal team at Aronberg & Aronberg know, the reduced risk of a costly or fatal crash is well worth having to deal with the occasional annoying beep or vibration.

If you have any questions about this or any other auto safety feature or personal injury-related matter, or if you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence or recklessness of another, please contact our Delray Beach office at Aronberg & Aronberg.

To schedule a free consultation, please call 561-266-9191. With offices in Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Wellington, we are ready and able to assist you.

Visits: 5