Detroit’s Blind Spot

Collision mitigation systems. Sensors embedded around the car detect when you're heading for a crash on the highway. First, you receive an audible warning, like a chime or a recorded voice ("Danger, Will Robinson!"). Then, if you don't hit the brakes, the gas pedal starts pulsing against your lead foot to tell you to back off. If you still don't respond, the system actually hits the brakes for you. This all happens in a matter of seconds. And unlike lithium-ion batteries, this technology is already on the road in the Acura RL and the Volvo S80. Look for it to migrate into lower-priced cars.

Lane-departure warnings. If you start to veer out of your lane, sensors in your car notice and give you a warning. In BMW's version, the warning is a vibrating steering wheel that feels like you're driving on those rumble strips on the shoulder of the road. In the Nissan version, bells warn you. Coming soon are systems that will take over the steering if you don't respond to the warning. Once you're safely back on center in your lane, KITT, er, I mean your car, gives you back complete control.

More airbags. Just when you thought airbags couldn't pop out anywhere else in your car, look down. Soon carmakers will install knee airbags just below the dashboard. In the backseat, chest-protecting airbags will pop out of the doors or the sides of the seats. They'll be calibrated for the smaller bodies that often ride back there so that the airbags won't harm when they're trying to help.

All of these technologies should chip away at that death rate--a figure that's remained stubbornly above 40,000 for 15 years. Another lifesaver is electronic stability control, which keeps cars from spinning out. It's already on thousands of cars on the road today. And the Feds are requiring it on all new cars by 2011, which Lund says will ultimately save 10,000 lives a year.

But the most intelligently designed safety technology is, as they say, the nut behind the wheel. If we all just slow down, sober up and buckle up, the highway death rate will plummet. Four in 10 traffic deaths are alcohol-related. And more than half of highway fatalities are people who were not wearing their seatbelt. But since we can't be counted on to reform our bad driving habits, Ford safety VP Sue Cischke told me this week that her company is actively researching ways to boost seat-belt usage (more comfy belts) and to disable cars if the driver is drunk (blow before you go). So perhaps there will be something to say on safety at next year's Detroit Auto Show. Because saving the planet won't be any fun if we all die on the road first.

© 2008