Safety features often play a major role in someone’s decision about what vehicle to purchase. Particularly when people have children in their care, they want to invest in vehicles that will keep passengers as safe as possible.
People frequently focus on features such as side-impact airbags and external view cameras. They may overlook another, very important safety feature that may seem negligible until something goes wrong. There’s one safety feature that has become much more common in recent years that most people would benefit from having in their vehicles.
Technology can prevent rollaway collisions
The cause of a rollaway collision is usually simple forgetfulness or possibly confusion. Rollaway collisions occur when a driver forgets to properly park a vehicle. They pull up in front of their home or into a parking space and proceed to exit their vehicle. They do this while the vehicle is still in gear.
Taking their foot off of the brakes will often mean that the vehicle starts rolling, especially if the driver stopped on an incline. This is often a simple oversight, but it can be the result of confusion as well. Modern shifters include dials and buttons that may confuse drivers, especially if they are new to the vehicle and learned to drive with more traditional shifters. Whether they occur due to confusion or forgetfulness, rollaway crashes can cause major injuries and property damage.
There are safety systems installed in many vehicles that help prevent rollaway collisions. Some vehicles will automatically shift into park if someone leaves the engine on without parking it and opens the driver’s door. Other vehicles will display warning lights and issue loud beeping noises to let drivers know that it is not safe to exit the vehicle because they have failed to park.
These simple systems can make a drastic difference in the overall safety of a vehicle’s occupants and anyone nearby when a driver forgets to properly park. Unfortunately, even some vehicles manufactured in the last few years sometimes lack any form of rollaway protection. These design oversights increase the possibility that certain types of vehicles will contribute to preventable collisions.
People hurt by a rollaway crash can often file an insurance claim, but they may also want to look into manufacturer liability via a personal injury lawsuit. Pointing out how the flaw in a company’s design caused a crash could lead to a company bearing financial liability for scenarios that leave people hurt.