The Ins and Outs of Forward Collision Warning Systems

How Forward Collision Warning Safety Systems Work

Thanks to advances in technology, drivers and their passengers are much safer behind the wheel than they were, say a decade ago. Modern-day safety systems have become extremely advanced, and you’ll find more than the standard anti-lock brakes and three-point seatbelts that used to be some of the most desired safety features around. One of the newest pieces of technology is typically called something along the lines of “Forward Collision Warning.” Let’s look at what the system does and how exactly it all works.

To make a long story short, what Forward Collision Warning systems do is monitor activity in front of and to the sides of the vehicle. It keeps tabs on the vehicles ahead, but also tracks other obstacles. When it senses that the vehicle may come into contact with an object that lies ahead, it sends out a visual, as well as an audible warning, alerting the driver of the impending danger. If the driver is not able to react, most systems will actually apply braking pressure, which helps to alleviate some of the damage that occurs.


How Collision Warning Systems Work

Now we’ll get into some more of the technical aspects of these systems. For the most part, understanding how they work is actually quite simple. Depending on the manufacturer, there are cameras and/or radars that help to monitor the distance between the front of the vehicle and other objects, such as vehicles. It also factors in speed, and only will sound off if it doesn’t think that the vehicle will be able to stop in time.

What is so beneficial about the speed factor is that if you are coming in behind a car stopped at a red light, the alerts will not go off as you move in closer to the rear of the vehicle ahead. The warning would only sound if the system detected that you may not have enough time to slow the vehicle with enough time.

When it does sense that there may not be enough time, certain systems will take control and apply full braking force automatically to at least help to minimize the impact of the collision. So if something were to happen to you where you could not brake on your own, the vehicle is able to step in to help you out.



Get a Used Vehicle with Forward Collision Warning

As we mentioned earlier, depending on the automaker, the name of this system differs, but if you see anything along the lines of Forward Collision Warning or Front Crash Mitigation, you can expect it to do exactly what we’ve outlined here. If you are interested in getting yourself a set of keys to a vehicle that comes equipped with the system, be sure to get in touch with us here at Gil’s Auto Sales. We can help.