More Assists Than Ever
In the early days, a vehicle’s safety revolved around how well it fared in an accident, and active safety consisted of one’s driving abilities or lack thereof. Then, little by little, assists came about, starting with anti-lock brakes, and later on, traction control. Entering the 2000s, stability control became more and more prominent.
But these days, cars are filled with sensors and cameras that do everything to prevent or at least mitigate even the slightest fender benders. We now have adaptive cruise, steer assist, and autonomous emergency braking, to name a few. For automakers, many have been adding assists to their vehicles, and BMW is no exception.
BMW
Safety Upgrade
BMW has a barrage of new technologies that will eventually trickle on to other models. For now, many of these will first be implemented in the iX3, and you can bet the i3 and i4 will eventually follow suit, as well as the recently-launched all-new X5, and the heavily updated 7 Series.
The company calls it the BMW Symbiotic Drive, and it’s a result of the analysis of billions of testing miles collected from vehicles. In BMW’s words, it “understands the driver’s intentions through steering inputs and line of sight, enabling assistance functions to intervene only when necessary.” To simplify, it aims to significantly reduce instances of phantom braking or unnecessary intervention from the advanced driver assists.
BMW
One for the Cyclists
One feature BMW would like to highlight is the new Exit Warning. Not only does it warn the driver of oncoming traffic, pedestrians, or cyclists when opening the door. It also has the ability to physically stop one from opening the door if imminent danger is detected. The new Exit Warning should prevent, or at least lessen, instances of ‘dooring’ incidents between motorists and cyclists.
If any of the short-wave sensors detect oncoming traffic, motorized or not, the electronic door lock specifically delays the opening of the door. Of course, using the emergency handle overrides this function, but under normal operation, the system acts as intended.
BMW
Other Enhancements
BMW also made enhancements to the lane-keep assist. It only provides warnings or steering intervention when an unintended lane departure or imminent collision is detected. When driver input or use of the turn signal is detected, the system stays off. Also, the emergency steering intervention can maneuver around an obstacle while keeping the car within its own lane. It can also activate if another vehicle is getting dangerously close by steering away from it.
Also enhanced is the autonomous emergency braking system. It can now better identify animals on the road and will react if one suddenly crosses the car’s path. That should come in handy in places where wildlife comes out of nowhere. BMW will also add Attentiveness Assistant with emergency stop that brings a car to a halt when the driver is incapacitated, which then triggers a call to emergency services. And to avoid instances of pedal misapplication, future BMW models will come equipped with an intervention system that puts on the brakes should it occur.
Granted, a lot of these systems are available in some cars these days. However, BMW aims to boost its safety credentials even further with the addition and enhancement of these features. Given how tech has progressed in the past couple of years, there will come a time when some, if not most, of these features will trickle down to more affordable vehicles.
BMW