Search
Close this search box.
Sign up for our weekly Newsletter

The car safety systems that count

‘Active’ safety features are all the rage.
But what do they actually do? And which ones work for company car drivers?
Special report: RALPH MORTON<br
194_Vauxhall_AFL_Lighting_Technology 300x1941

Share

29 October 2012

Story: RALPH MORTON

WHAT car safety features should a business car manager include on an SME’s company car policy?

Good question.

Euro NCAP safety star systems provide a very clear indication of a car’s ability to provide passive safety features in the event of an accident.

But what about those safety systems that are active – that help company car drivers avoid crashes in the first place?

There are plenty around, with perhaps the best known being Volvo’s City Safe which brings the car to a halt at speeds up to 30mph. Automatically.  Ford has its own version in the Ford Focus, available as part of its £750 driver assistance package.

Other active braking systems include:

  • Mercedes Pre-Safe
  • Audi Pre-Sense
  • VW Front Assist
  • BMW Adaptive Brake Assistant
  • Infiniti Intelligent Brake Assist
  • Ford Forward Alert with Brake Support
  • Honda Civic
  • Mazda Smart City Braking

But there are other safety features such as blind spot assist and lane departure warning. Are these worth specifying on an SME company car policy?

The highly respected US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety  (IIHS) has been looking at some initial findings from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).

“Collision avoidance systems that brake for the driver provide a bigger benefit,” says David Zuby, chief research officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in the video above, “along with adaptive headlights, which shift direction as the driver steers.

“Both these systems show the biggest crash reductions.”

However, the IIHS says that lane departure warning systems appear to have little effect, while the jury is still out on the benefits of blind spot detection and park assist.

Vauxhall Intelligent Adaptive Forward Lighting systems
This picture – showing Vauxhall’s AFL lighting technology – demonstrates the benefits of adaptive lighting systems in helping company car drivers avoid accidents at night

For business car managers, the message is clear: collision avoidance systems are a worthwhile feature – not only and most importantly can they potentially save one of your company car drivers from a fatal accident, but they can also reduce accident damage and reduce insurance claims. The following list provides a good indication of where collision avoidance systems come as standard – although the list is not comprehensive as specifications are changing all the time:

  • VW High up!
  • All Mazda CX-5 SUVs
  • Infiniti GT premium models
  • The complete Volvo range except XC90 and C70/C30
  • All New Mercedes A-Class models

Adaptive lighting systems are also a worthwhile investment. Vauxhall’s system, for example, is called Intelligent Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL), which is standard on Insignia Elite and Elite Nav models, and as an £890 option on the rest of the range (bar ES). AFL is also available on the Astra range, too.

For any SME business car manager, safety does count.

And in a year when the number of fatalities increased by  3% on 2010 figures – 1,901 people were killed in road accidents in 2011 – providing the safest environment for company car drivers must be a high priority for a business car manager and an SME’s company car policy.

Share this article

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit
Email

Want more motoring news?

Sign up here for our free weekly serving of motoring.

Sign up here for our free weekly serving of motoring.

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

Latest news

Top