Honda to Make Crash-less Cars Within The Next 10 Years

Imagine a world free of automobile accidents. Driving in fear of hitting pedestrians, objects by the road, and other cars could be a thing of the past in the near future. Soon vehicles will be able to detect all dangerous situations and then automatically avoid them without any driver action. Honda is attempting to make this technology available within the next ten years, and here at Fisher Honda in Boulder, we can’t wait to see the improvements they make to their already award-winningly safe models.

Currently, Honda’s main focus is on limiting pedestrian crashes, which are typically the most fatal, and rear-end crashes, which are the most common. Honda is hoping to release the technology to avoid these accidents in the next 2 to 3 years.

Detecting Pedestrians

Right now, there are several automakers working on pedestrian-detecting technology with some success. There are currently vehicles with cameras and radar technology that sense when a person is too close to a moving vehicle, which then trigger the brakes to avoid impact.

There are still limits to what is on the market at the moment. Most systems only work at lower speeds, but Honda is developing technology that could make a car that is going even 50 mph stop completely if it realizes a pedestrian is crossing the road.

Time Green Lights

Honda is also working on something it calls the “Green Wave Driving Support System.” This visual timer alerts drivers how fast they would have to drive to make it to the next light while it remains green. Honda believes that this would help to dramatically reduce rear-end crashes because it would minimize the need to slam on the brakes as often.

Advancements to Adaptive Cruise Control

Adaptive cruise control exists, but all of the bugs haven’t quite been figured out yet. Right now, systems only sense the vehicle that is directly in front of it. If a car cuts into a lane of a car with adaptive cruise control, that car then brakes suddenly, possibly causing a rear-end collision. The cut-in prediction adaptive cruise control that Honda is working on would detect 6 cars in front of it, spanning multiple lanes of traffic.

Possibility of a Safer Future

It will be interesting to see if this new technology, which only a few years ago would sound like science fiction, can become a reality in the next decade. The potential benefits would be immense since automobile accidents happen so frequently. Safer roadways are definitely needed, and Honda is heading in the right direction to make that happen. For more information on Honda’s current models, contact Fisher Honda at 866-648-2477.