A crash course in car safety

Mercedes' Attention Assist wakes drowsy drivers. Photo / Supplied

Now that ABS is as common as ABC and most vehicles have more airbags than you have cushions on your sofa at home, you probably think your car can't get any safer.

But it can. There are amazing features in luxury marques that will soon filter to other brands, while newer technology is so futuristic the car almost drives itself.

Mercedes-Benz developed Attention Assist that monitors the way the driver controls the car and detects if a steering pattern is characteristic of drowsy driving.

It combines this with other information, such as time of day and journey duration, warning the driver to take a break by showing a coffee cup signal on the dash and emitting a loud tone.

This technology is available in New Zealand in the Mercedes C-Class range. Also available here is Audi's night vision, found in the luxury A8. It uses a thermal-imaging camera to see 300m ahead and highlight humans. The computer can determine whether the person on the road is moving and alerts the driver with an audible warning.

So, what else can you expect in the next few years for your vehicle?

In the future, cars could talk to each other in order to avoid accidents. Ford is currently engineering an intelligent vehicle system that uses advanced Wi-Fi technology; it transmits your vehicle's location and recognises other vehicles around you.

The system will warn you of an oncoming car when you'd like to pass a vehicle on a country road, alert you to a car about to drive through a red light, or tell you when a vehicle ahead has suddenly stopped. This technology will be an option by the end of the decade, although it'll be much longer before it's standard.

But US manufacturer Infiniti recently unveiled the JX car that boasts the world's first backing collision-intervention technology. Like existing backing sensors, the system beeps if it detects potential obstacles while the vehicle is in reverse.

If the driver does not respond, the system brakes automatically to prevent a collision.

The latest US-only Ford Explorer features inflatable seatbelts - a first in the industry - designed to reduce chest and neck injuries.

And the new Scion iQ, the world's smallest four-seater, is also innovative. It includes a rear-window airbag, an industry first, totalling 11 for the compact car.

Must-haves

The Automobile Association says there are five safety features you should consider for your new car:

* Structural integrity - the structure of the vehicle will absorb and dissipate the crash energy. Safe vehicles will maintain their shape in the event of a crash. Elements inside the vehicle should not move excessively and injure passengers. Doors should remain closed during a crash, while being able to be opened post-crash.

* Electronic Stability Control helps drivers control the vehicle in the event of sudden swerving.

* Anti-lock braking systems (ABS) prevent the wheels of a vehicle locking as brake pedal pressure is applied, usually in an emergency with a short stopping distance. This gives the driver better control and helps prevent skidding.

* When deployed in the event of a crash, airbags significantly reduce the chance of death or serious injury. For maximum safety, drivers should look for front, side, curtain and knee airbags.

* All occupants within a vehicle should be wearing retractable three-point sash-style seatbelts with pre-tensioners. This helps reduce the impacts of extreme forces in a crash. Lap belts are less effective. Audible seatbelt reminders are also valuable.