The statistics on car crashes aren’t exactly the most heartwarming pieces of information you could view. It’s estimated that over 1.25 million people a year die in automobile accidents across the world – which averages out at around 3400 deaths a day. While that’s actually a very small number of people involved in car accidents every year – with tens of millions of people injured in such accidents every year – that’s still a pretty dizzying figure.
Technology, of course, has been instrumental for car manufacturers who are hoping to make cars as safe as possible. For some, the key goal of advanced technology in the auto world is to reduce emissions. For others, it’s ensuring that we can build cars that can drive themselves from one end of the country to the other (stand up, Tesla).
But there are others out there who are more concerned with using technology in order to prevent as many accidents as possible. (It should be noted that many have argued that roads full of autonomous cars would actually be much safer, so perhaps this is also a leading goal for those making such advancements!)
Toyota unveiled the 2018 Lexus LS earlier this year, and the company hopes that it will become the definitive luxury sedan in Japan. (They are, of course, also hoping it will make quite the impact all over world!) It shouldn’t be a surprise that Toyota have brought a lot of their ideas of social responsibility to the table with the advances they’ve made with the new Lexus LS.
In late June, the company showcased the vehicle formally for Western audiences, with chief engineer Toshio Asahi stating that the 2018 Lexus LS has been designed to be the world’s top runner when it comes to advanced safety technology in cars. With car accidents on the rise for the last couple of years in the United States, such a focus is definitely welcomed. So what safety technology are we talking about, here?
The 2018 Lexus LS will feature sensors arrays such as a millimeter radar on both the front and back, allowing for 360 degree coverage. It recognizes cars, cyclists, and pedestrians, though at what length is yet to be revealed. It’s an enhanced version of the similar technology you can see in other Toyota cars. There will also be automated avoidance of hazards if braking isn’t enough to prevent a collision. This isn’t a full embrace of automated driving, however – the car will begin to decelerate, with hazard lights activated, if it senses the driver has taken their hands off the wheel, under the assumption that the driver has lost consciousness. It will even call emergency services if it doesn’t detect movement after coming to a stop.
But how much can all this technology really help? It will certainly help in many cases, but so many accidents are caused by distracted driving and driving under the influence – and it’s hard to say how much of a dent advanced technology will put in those related statistics.
Hopefully we’ll be seeing more details about the 2018 Lexus LS’s safety testing results in the coming months.