Motorists Urged To Learn About Their Vehicle’s Safety Technology

Winter_Weather_AdvisoryNorthwest Iowa — Winter is officially here, and while some northwest Iowa drivers may curse the return of winter weather, one expert says many of us already have helpful technology in our cars, except we don’t always understand how it works.

Dan McGehee, director of the Transportation and Vehicle Safety Program at the University of Iowa, says automatic braking systems, or A-B-S, have been around 20 years, yet it’s a very misunderstood safety feature.

Many newer vehicles are also equipped with traction control, which helps you accelerate without spinning out on slippery surfaces like snow and ice. McGehee says the most exciting vehicle safety technology to come down the road in years is called electronic stability control.

Something many higher-end cars have that’s starting to migrate to lower-priced vehicles is adaptive headlights. They can adapt to changing roadway conditions to help illuminate the roadway during the long winter nights.

The University of Iowa and the National Safety Council created a website called, My Car Does What, which helps to educate motorists about new vehicle technologies. It features everything we’ve mentioned here, in addition to things like back-up cameras, blind spot monitors and lane departure warnings.

Just visit www.mycardoeswhat.org

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