Every car buyer asks many questions while buying a car. Does it look good? Is it premium on the inside? How many features does it have? Is the engine powerful? How much mileage does it give? ... But they rarely ask the most important question of them all... Is it safe? Safety features in a car can very well save you from what could be a fatal accident. While there's more to safety than just airbags and seatbelts. Here's a few important ones to note in the first chapter.

 

Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaining tractive contact with the road surface. ABS operates at a much faster rate and more effectively than most drivers could manage. With ABS, sensors mounted at each wheel monitor the speed at which the wheels are turning. If one is turning slower than the others during braking, that indicates it is locking up, which could cause skidding and loss of steering control. ABS is supposed to intervene by rapidly “pumping” the brakes at the wheel that is locking up, allowing it to spin so that the driver retains braking and steering control.

 

Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's wheels, based on road conditions, speed, loading, etc. Always coupled with anti-lock braking systems (ABS), EBD can apply more or less braking pressure to each wheel in order to maximize stopping power whilst maintaining vehicular control.Typically, the front end carries the most weight and EBD distributes less braking pressure to the rear brakes so the rear brakes do not lock up and cause a skid.

 

Electronic Stability Control (ESC), is a computerized technology that improves a vehicle's stability by detecting and reducing loss of traction. When ESC detects loss of steering control, it automatically applies the brakes to help "steer" the vehicle where the driver intends to go. Braking is automatically applied to wheels individually, such as the outer front wheel to counter oversteer, or the inner rear wheel to counter understeer. Some ESC systems also reduce engine power until control is regained. ESC does not improve a vehicle's cornering performance; instead, it helps to minimize the loss of control.

 

Traction Control System (TCS), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of driven road wheels. TCS is activated when throttle input and engine torque are mismatched to road surface conditions. Traction control helps limit tire slip in acceleration on slippery surfaces. Many people mistakenly believe that traction control will prevent their vehicle from getting stuck.  This couldn't be further from the truth. Traction control does not have the ability to increase traction; it just attempts to prevent a vehicle's wheels from spinning. 

 

Hill Start Assist Control (HAC), is a safety technology feature that helps support vehicles when driving on steep slopes. When a heavy vehicle comes upon an especially steep hill all of a sudden, the vehicle can begin to slip backwards. The same can be said for vehicles coming to a hill that is in bad weather conditions, from snow or rain and other similar hazards. HAC is there to prevent your vehicle from rolling backwards. It does this by taking control of the pressure applied to brake fluid as you move your foot from the brake to the gas. In other words, imagine you have been stopped on a steep hill because of a traffic jam. When it’s time to go again, you have to take your foot off the brake and onto the gas, so for a second or two the vehicle is neither being stopped nor propelled forward, and thus it could begin to slide backwards. HAC prevents this from happening.

 

Hill descent control (HDC), is a car safety feature that’s designed to facilitate safe travel down steep grades. The feature is primarily intended for use in rough terrain, but it can be used whenever a driver wants to descend slowly down a steep hill. Unlike cruise control, which typically only works above a certain speed, hill descent control systems are usually designed so that they can only be activated if the vehicle is moving slower than 30 kph. The specifics vary from one automaker to the next, but it is generally a low-speed technology. 

 

The way hill descent control works is very similar to the way that traction control and electronic stability control work. Just like those systems, HDC can interface with the ABS hardware and pulse the brakes without any input from the driver. Each wheel can be independently controlled in this manner, which allows the hill descent control system to maintain traction by locking up or releasing individual wheels as the need arises.