Helping Cars See Better At Night Is Key To Reducing Pedestrian Deaths
Most pedestrians who die in crashes are killed at night, but nighttime has been when the technology designed to prevent pedestrian crashes struggles most.
At night, several test vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking systems and pedestrian detection were found to be “completely ineffective.” Rather than bash the automakers' efforts, AAA encouraged continued development of these systems because of the scope of the pedestrian death crisis in this country.
Vehicle technology is one way to improve protection for pedestrians at night, and a couple of thermal imaging companies are promoting their systems as the answer. Thermal imaging is already having a bit of a moment this year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thermal cameras can be used to detect elevated body temperatures at a distance. That allows them to function as an initial screening in places like auto plants to monitor for people who could be feverish, a potential symptom of the virus.
Read the article at Detroit Free Press.
Higher Used-Car Values Mean Your Car Lease Could Unlock Hidden Cash
Is there hidden cash parked right in your driveway?
If you've got a car lease that's set to expire in a few months, a red hot used car market means you need to pay extra close attention to the value of your vehicle.
You might want to make a move more quickly than you'd expect – and you might not necessarily want to opt for business as usual and just return the car to the dealer when the lease ends.
"It's the most unique used-car situation we've ever seen," Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights at Edmunds, said. Some cars, he said, didn't depreciate in value for almost an entire year.
Read the article at USA Today
Electric Vehicle Market Hits Its Tipping Point
Electric vehicles have been the coming thing for quite some time now.
Twelve years ago Tesla debuted its first EV, the Roadster. Ever since, EV enthusiasts have been predicting that the U.S. market for electron-powered personal transportation would soon bloom.
Yet the EV market is now abruptly shedding its elite, early-adopter appeal. If the high stakes and recent, almost universal rush by manufacturers to bring fleets of wholly practical EVs to market is a meaningful indicator, we’re fast approaching the EV tipping point.
What lies beyond is a future where electric cars are the default and gasoline powered cars are relics of a carbon intensive past.
Read the article at Forbes
Self-Driving Cars: Everything You Need to Know About the Future’s Most-Hyped Tech
We live in an age of technological progress the likes of which no other period of human invention has ever seen; we have reusable orbital rockets; medical breakthroughs in surgical neurology; and deep-scan imaging uncovering lost civilizations.
But the promise of self-driving cars has yet to be realized, though that’s not for the lack of promise or trying.
Self-driving, also known as autonomous, cars have been in the zeitgeist since the late 1950s. Automakers saw the space age’s marketing and technological advancements capture the world’s imagination, and started hyping “Cars that Drive Themselves!” Unfortunately, no one, and we mean no one, has been able to crack the code, but they’re getting closer.
Read the article at The DRIVE
Helping Cars See Better at Night is Key to Reducing Pedestrian Deaths
No one was crossing Kercheval Avenue on The Hill in Grosse Pointe Farms as a minivan made its way through the shopping district one evening this fall, but people were clearly nearby.
They could be seen there on the laptop screen from inside the vehicle, their presence confirmed by glowing images captured by a thermal camera.
But the pedestrians weren't on the street, and it took a moment to realize that they were actually on the sidewalk, obscured by decorative plantings and the darkness that coated everything not illuminated.
Read the article at Detroit Free Press
