Gadgets drive safer motoring at electronics show

CARMAKERS displaying the latest technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) are relying on sensors, connectivity and digital cameras in a drive towards eliminating accidents.

Mercedes-Benz is among those pursuing what is known as “active security” to build a car that would have a “less than 1% chance of getting into a crash” outside of a driver being drunk, a spokesman said.

Car industry expert Doug Newcomb of Edmunds.com said while they do not want to admit it too openly, carmakers are even working on “autonomous” cars like the celebrated self-driving vehicles tested by internet giant Google.

“It’s very controversial,” Newcomb said, but the Google experience, which saw just a single accident — and that due to human error — tends to show that “cars are smarter than many drivers”.

Experts say the improved safety features on display at the CES gadget fair, as well as those in research labs, are leading to a “semi-autonomous” car.

In some luxury models, onboard computers can already take control of the brakes or steering wheel.

Ford currently offers a lane-keeping system which features a digital camera mounted on the windshield that is focused on the lane markings ahead as a car drives down the road.

“If you drift off your lane, there will be an audible warning and a shake of the steering wheel,” said Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood.

“It will steer you back” in the event of repeated incursions, he said.

Restricted for now to high-end models, the lane-keeping aid will be extended for the first time this year, to mid-range vehicles like the Ford Explorer and the Ford Fusion.

“Consumers really question how much control they want the car to take,” said Sherwood. “[But] in general, people like it. It’s very subtle.”

Ford has sold 300,000 vehicles equipped with the system since 2009.

Mercedes has a similar lane-keeping system and another for blind spot monitoring to detect the presence of an unseen car to the side.

Radar-like sensors are also being used to make sure drivers keep a safe distance from cars in front of them and can brake automatically in the event of a sudden deceleration.

The cars’ increased connectivity will also help keep a driver better informed, leading to greater safety.