5 Car Safety Features Every Senior Should Own

Do you have these car safety features installed on your car?

When you are getting a new car, you should consider a lot of features, but unfortunately, car safety is one of the things that gets overlooked since a lot of us are looking at the other features and important aspects of buying a new car. When you end up retiring or reaching the age of seniority, there are certain car safety features that are just as important as the fuel economy, price, and reliability of the cars you are interested in!

For an older adult who is going to purchase a new car, you need to think in perspective and anticipate certain issues that may come along with old age and the fact that you will probably not be changing your car every 5 years from now on. That is why these car safety features are important, as the technology has evolved enough to help you and aid when it can as you age and keep on driving.

Driving is an important element of maintaining independence as we age, and making sure our car is as safe as possible for ourselves and others on the road is of utmost importance. This is why we have gathered some of the best car safety features for seniors that you should be looking into to make sure that you are as safe as possible on the road!

Do you already have any of these features in your car? Are there any other ones you consider perfect for seniors? Let us know your opinions in the comments down below!

Warning for lane departure

This is one of the new tech car safety features that could benefit everyone, no matter their age, but especially seniors. The departure warning system that has been a staple on a lot of cars recently will alert the driver if the vehicle starts to drift from its course. The feature is amazing, if you are driving when you are not feeling well or when you are tired, it can happen that the car will go off course.

This safety feature monitors the white lines on the road, and when the car swerves out of the lane without signaling, it starts sounding the alert sound, and you can easily react accordingly to correct the problem.

The best part is that a lot of the departure warning systems also come with lane-keeping assistance, which is just as important when we talk about car safety. With this one, the car will automatically steer back into the lane without the driver even needing to correct the course if the car attempts to cross lanes without signaling, making it just as important when it comes to car safety for seniors.
In the end, all of us can accidentally forget to signal, or we can even get drowsy behind the wheel, and this car safety is important, be it whether you are a senior or not!

Rearview camera

When it comes to backing up, sometimes it can be more challenging than we would initially imagine, be it that the angle is not the best to see what we are doing, the pain we may have in our backs or necks, or even the low visibility due to the time of day or the weather.

For seniors, the pain is one of the biggest problems when it comes to backing up, and this is where this car feature comes in, and it inadvertently becomes a car safety feature. The rearview camera is important, and the screen helps you be able to maneuver the car with ease when you are backing up. It also comes with the perk that you may be able to see another car when looking in the mirrors or turning around, which is not enough!

It solves both the problem of visibility and the pain problem, and it makes the move way easier for both seniors and everyone else who may need it!

It is such an important car safety feature that, since they are useful when it comes to preventing collisions, they have become mandatory on every new car in the U.S. since May 2018.

While making sure that you have a rearview camera is important, you should also be thinking of maybe getting a dashboard one as well! Not only are they going to be able to record if something is happening on the road, but in the eventuality that someone else causes even a minor accident that involves your car, you can easily prove that you were not the one responsible for it! This one from Amazon has good reviews and is affordable if you want to give it a try!

AEB (Automatic emergency braking)

Speaking of important technological advances in car features that also come with car safety elements, automatic emergency braking is one such feature that is amazing to have on a car, especially if you are a senior or you are driving with kids in the car.

The AEB system is going to be able to use its sensors and signal when there is an imminent crash ahead. Then it will either slow down the car or break suddenly to stop it if you, as a driver, cannot respond in time. This car safety feature is a big improvement, as it can help prevent a number of accidents that, as a driver, you cannot avoid in time due to reflex issues or even the fight, flight, freeze response!

This system has not been designed to help you ignore being vigilant behind the wheel, and no one actually uses it in this way, but it is a great car safety feature every senior should make use of; you never know when your reflexes will slow down, and if it can prevent an accident, then it is a feature that is a must in any car!

BSW (Blindspot detection system)

Another important car system that has great safety features is the blindspot detection system, which is also known as BSW. The BSW uses its system of sensors, cameras, and radars to be able to let the drivers know when there is another vehicle in the car’s blind spot or when it is unsafe to merge into another lane.

Depending on the type of system you have, there will either be lights turning on the door mirrors when there is a car in that spot, or there could be an audible sign that there is a car that you cannot see in that spot. Some of the more advanced BSWs also come with an automatic steering emergency system that will either drive the vehicle away or simply brake if you attempt to ignore the signals that there is a car in the blind spot!

This is an amazing safety feature to have installed on your car, and one that you should not pass on if you have the choice to include one in your next car.

Driver attention warning

The last car safety system we will be discussing today is probably one of the most important ones for seniors. Driver attention detection is generally a great feature that has been invented for vehicles, but it is needed on any cars that will be mainly used by seniors.

The sad reality is that we can never predict what will happen, and sometimes we think we can do more than we can actually do.

The most rudimentary versions of these systems will use a lot of sensors to make sure that you are paying attention to the road and, in case it is needed, suggest you take a break because you are at risk of becoming drowsy. For that, they also include monitoring the length of the drive and how often you have been moving the steering wheel.

The more advanced ones can even come with a camera that is installed in the steering wheel, which will be able to monitor the driver’s head movements and eyes and then signal to you that you need to take a break.

Now that you are aware of the most important car safety features that you should make sure your vehicle has as a senior, it will be easier when you want to upgrade your car to know what to look out for. And while we can understand how you would want to jump straight into getting a new car, you should ask yourself if the time of the year is good for that! Make sure you do not buy your new car at the best time by checking out the periods here!