Car Safety Fixes That Could Be Implemented Now
We covered exciting new technologies in “What’s Next in Car Safety?” Not every potentially life-saving feature needs a massive investment, or invention of next-generation tech.
Here we raise some simpler features that our automotive engineers would like to see on today’s cars. And these could all be readily implemented, using current tech in creative ways.
Wipers on? Lights on.
Headlights make a car more visible in bad weather, says CR automotive engineer Alex Knizek. We think a vehicle’s headlights should automatically turn on when a driver turns on the wipers, just like some vehicles from Ford, Honda, Subaru, and others do. Twenty states already have “wipers on, lights on” laws.
Rollaway Prevention
A driver shouldn’t be able to walk away from a vehicle accidentally left in gear, says Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at CR. We believe a car should auto-shift into Park