If you’ve had your car for a few years or recently bought a used car, it’s likely you’re green with envy over the innovative technology included in most new vehicles. Be envious no longer, as in this article we’ll look at how you can spice up your motor with new gadgets.
Parking Sensors
It seems to be a common theme that people encounter a few issues when parking their cars. For instance, a survey that was commissioned by RAC Insurance revealed that 35% of those questioned admitted to having their car pranged at least once after parking it in a car park. 31% said that they had experienced this on multiple occasions, with 28% stating that they had recorded three lots of damage. Staggeringly, 23% noted five incidences.
Director of RAC Insurance, Mark Godfrey, said: “We all use car parks every day so the chances of your car picking up a dent or scratch are pretty high, especially as vehicles have got wider over the years while parking spaces generally haven’t.”
Research by Accident Exchange found that there are around half a million car park incidents every year, with the average repair costing around £1,428. Based on these figures, UK drivers are faced with a £716 million bill on an annual basis!
There are many reasons why car parks are chaotic ‘Accident Exchange’s Liz Fisher noted that “visibility from inside the cabin of new cars is compromised compared to older vehicles, which used far more glass and had lower sills and narrower pillars”. It’s not just collisions which are frustrating and worrying motorists though, as a study commissioned by the Accident Advice Helpline via OnePoll.com and involving 2,000 drivers across the UK revealed that parallel parking is the nation’s trickiest driving manoeuvre.
Stress could be reduced by investing in fitted parking sensors. For instance, the EchoMaster Rear Parking Display System can clearly alert drivers about how far their car is away from other vehicles and objects once the equipment has been installed.
Dash Cams
Dash cams are handy little gadgets, like the Nextbase Dash Cam 212G, which provides high-quality footage in full 1080p HD at 30fps. You’ll be joining a growing number of motorists who are turning to this technology in order to stay safe whenever they go for a drive.
Research by Aviva found that 27% of motorists now use dash cams. 72% of those who say they have enhanced their vehicles with these devices have also encouraged other drivers to follow their lead. The study went on to reveal that 48% of those with a dash cam believed the gadgets will provide them with peace of mind if they suffer a collision while driving, while 36% of those who responded to the survey acknowledged that the devices help to make them feel safer on the road.
The Office for National Statistics found in 2018 that the nation’s roads are busier than they’ve ever been. In the year to March 2017, the organisation recorded that 324.3 billion vehicle miles were travelled on the nation’s road network and that car traffic had increased for the past four years by an average of 1.5% per year.
Blind Spot Mirrors
Blind spots are unavoidable, there’ll always be a portion of the road that you can’t see from your seat. Depending on the situation, these blind spots ‘ generally seen on the rear left and right side of your vehicle ‘ can cover a large enough area to block out a pedestrian, cyclist, motorbike or a car from your view.
Blind spots can be particularly dangerous when changing lanes or turning onto a new road. GOV.UK has stated that vehicle blind spots were a contributing factor for 1,250 accidents recorded in 2016 alone, for example, while an analysis of 50,000 road collisions conducted by Accident Exchange revealed that the majority of these incidents were found to be due to issues with blind spot visibility.
Direct Line Car Insurance found that over 11 million motorists have been involved in a collision because they either didn’t have their eyes on the road or didn’t check their blind spots. The insurance firm’s head of automotive technology, Nick Reid, reflected: “Letting our eyes drift away from the road while we drive or not checking our blind spot before manoeuvring is dangerous at best and potentially fatal at worst. We urge drivers to consider not just themselves but other road users and pedestrians when driving, as ‘I just didn’t see them’ is not a valid excuse for any collision.
“While nothing should replace driver vigilance, increased take up of driver assistance technologies such blind spot detection, pedestrian and cyclist warning and automatic braking systems could help reduce the number of unnecessary accidents on our roads.”
To tackle this problem, blind spot information systems could become a compulsory feature on all lorries with a weight of over 3.5 tonnes. The draft containing the proposal was approved during a UN meeting held in Geneva in October 2018, with the law introduced throughout the UK in October 2019.
Not only do these gadgets update your car but increase safety, an important part of driving.