A new report surveyed drivers to rank the safety features that have saved them from a crash.
According to the Consumer Reports survey, the best features were front collision warning (FCW), blind spot warning (BSW), front and rear automatic emergency braking (AEB) and features that help keep the car in the proper lane. Plus, more cars are coming equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that help prevent collisions.
Sixty percent of those surveyed said blind spot warning systems, which alert drivers to another vehicle in their blind spot, helped prevent a crash. About 47% said a combination of front collision warning and automatic braking helped prevent a crash. And 31% said a lane departure warning (LDW) or lane keeping assistant (LKA) aided in this way.
According to Consumer Reports, automatic emergency braking is becoming a more common feature in new vehicles. Only 29% of 2018 model year vehicles had the feature, but 48% of 2019 model year vehicles had standard AEB.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety said vehicles that have FCW and AEB have 50% fewer front-to-rear crashes than cars without such features.