Taking the strain

摘要

Although carmakers can now build vehicles that are safer than ever, there will always be one element over which they have little or no control - the driver. Up to 80 per cent of all road traffic accidents involve driver error, but aside from offering a trained chauffeur with each vehicle sold, what can be done to improve these statistics? Honda and General Motors both have brought out systems for their vehicles in the past year that aim to provide an additional layer of safety by helping drivers detect the movements of other road users, providing tactile prompts when action needs to be taken and in some cases even braking on the driver's behalf.