Mercedes called himself after the accident to the police?Yes, but new cars can do even better tricks

Mercedes poured his driver after a collision and called the police himself - such headlines have recently circulated the media in Poland.Some were even terrified that new cars can do so much.Only that this is only a tiny fragment of what cars are able to do today without the participation of the driver.

If someone missed this devastating message, I summarize.Mercedes A 45 driver, which is - as it turned out later - under the influence of drugs - during idiotic play in the underground parking lot, hit the pillar and parked car.The collision activated the system of calling for services, which resulted in the appearance of the police before anyone managed to clean up the mess.

So yes - the system by accident reported to its driver, although of course his task is a bit different in theory.Is to alert the services when the appropriate conditions are detected (e.g..collision or roofing) to avoid situations where car passengers are injured to such an extent that they are not able to call for help.

And no - this is no longer a system reserved for luxury cars.

Yes, the hero of the recent collision was Mercedes A 45, but ... I bet that some people do not even know that their cars have similar systems.Yes, even in those many times cheaper than Mercedes.

The emergency and automatic assistance system, ECALL, has been a must -have equipment for all newly approved passenger cars since April last year.Approximately is important because if the car was launched earlier and further on sale, it does not have to have this system.

For example.It is present without an additional payment, it is obligatory, in every skoda mercy.We won't find him at all in Citigo.In Fabia, it is an element of optional equipment, because Fabia passed its facelift at the beginning of 2018.so Skoda did not have to offer this system for free.The same in Octavia, which purchased its nasty double eyes in 2017.But enough about Skoda.

For modern cars, the mere calling for help is only one of the many functions in which they help us with their duties.Some are more impressive or they are much more useful every day.

What can they do?Among others…

... change the volume of the radio.

Yes, you can laugh that this is a trifle and a solution not very technically advanced.But only until the car, which regulates the volume itself, get into one that does not do it.

And suddenly during longer trips, when we go faster - we have to reach for the volume knob.When we slow down - we have to do it again.

And as it is a relatively simple solution, if it is - it usually works perfectly.

Usefulness: Obligatory!

... keep us on the lane

A system that at the beginning - especially when he was just a squeaking assistant - annoyed to evolve in something really sensible over time.Not only that - not only sensible, but also available not only to the most expensive cars, but also those from the lower shelf.

Unfortunately, this is not yet a mature and perfect solution to recommend it to absolutely everyone.On the contrary - you can still find it, regardless of the price shelf - on the lane maintenance system that will swim between the lines.On the other hand - it works very well in some inexpensive cars.

So let's test it before we spend several thousand zlotys on it.Even if it were to save us from just one unplanned descent beyond the edge of the lane or road.

Usefulness: if it works properly - great.

... keep a distance from the car in front of us

This system, i.e. an adaptive cruise control, can in turn be recommended and bought dark, especially if someone often rides on Polish roads, where the classic cruise control is not right.

And so - maintaining the distance from the preceding car does not work perfectly with every brand.But even when it works a little worse, it can be salvation on longer routes.

And if we combine an adaptive cruise control with a proper lane maintenance system and e.g..a camera scanning signs with speed limits, even the longest journeys should not be terrible to us.

Usefulness: mandatory for longer routes.

... slow down and accelerate on straight

On the other hand - it could be a bit useful to improve this adaptive cruise control, especially if we use it outside the highways, where all arches are mild enough.

For example.Mercedes can adapt our speed not only to the limits and speed of the car ahead of us, but also to the road we move.On the basis of GPS and MAPs, they determine at what speed it would be best to overcome a given bend, then slightly brake and after leaving the bend they return to the originally set.They can slow down the same.in front of the roundabouts.

Usefulness: usually it is in the package.

... change the belt to our command

Another system that perfectly complements the adaptive cruise control.We drive the highway, we get to a slower vehicle, slow down, we start to get bored or impatient.Do we have to take control of the car?Not necessarily.

In the models of some brands (Tesla, Mercedes), in such a situation it is enough to turn on the appropriate direction indicator.The car will check if it can change the belt (a camera to monitor dead field plus radar) and start the maneuver, accelerating to the maximum set speed.After overtaking, we throw the direction indicator again and land on our lane.

Perfectly.

Usefulness: click instead of turning the steering wheel - your selection.

... predict an accident - even if we stand

In the basic version, the warning system with a potential collision at the front is actually a standard in new cars.We are approaching the obstacle too quickly - we get a sound and graphic warning that something would be worth doing, for example, start braking.

If we have a system in a better version, it will automatically brake or prepare a brake for immediate reaction on our part.What he would not do - we have a better chance of survival.

However, these solutions may be even more extensive.For example, in the event of a very high risk of collision, they close the windows, set the seats in a safe position and reach the belts.

Some monitor not only the space in front of the car, but also around it.If the side collision is approaching, our armchair will move closer to the center of the car, while the bacon from the door side will be inflated.If someone is approaching our car at the traffic lights too quickly, the emergency lights will first be activated to warn him, and if this does not help - brakes will be taken to minimize the chance of hovering to the back of the next vehicle.

Usefulness: I would prefer to have it on board

... bypass the obstacle

Maybe it won't quite do it yet, but it will definitely facilitate the entire maneuver.If a rapid steering wheel movement is detected, aimed at e.g..Bypassing a pedestrian entering the road, the car will automatically support us - changing the power steering or braking the right wheels - first in the fact that the pedestrian is managed to bypass, and then in the controlled way to return to the right track.

Usefulness: high.Not everyone is the master's master.

... go to the right lane and stop the car

One of probably more interesting systems introduced in recent years and available M.in.in the VAG Group cars.How it works?

If the car decides that the driver has fainted or for some other reason he is not able to drive the car further, he first tries to wake him up.When it fails, slow brakes of the car, turn on the warning light begin, and - if it is possible - the exit to the extreme right lane, where the vehicle will be fully stopped.

It is impressive - and it works.

Usefulness: I would never like to test

... shine so as not to blind anyone

Another system that once worked completely for nothing, and today it is worth having it.Although it is also perfect neither in every situation.

How it's working?In the simplest system based on the front camera, the car automatically changes the passing lights to the road when nobody goes before us or does not come from the opposite.If the conditions on the road change, for the right time the light is switched to passing again, and then return to the previous state.The range of light and its distribution on the road can also be automatically changed - taking into account even our speed or conditions.

In a more extensive version, i.e. matrix headlights, switching between road lights and passing is not even necessary.The car can determine where the vehicle is ahead of us and cut it out of the lighting range.Thus, we do not lose sight of what is around and other drivers are not blinded.Well, they are usually not.

However, even this solution can be expanded.Even in some BMW models or Audi, a pedestrian detection system (in combination with a thermal imaging camera) transfers data about them to the headlight control system, which results in the presence of pedestrian, e.g..Wink on the side of the road.

Usefulness: abstractly high.Just like the price.

... learn where and how we go

This is mainly the domain of Tesla.The cars of this brand constantly exchange information among themselves, learning M.in.how to better recognize specific objects on the road or how to behave in a given place or situation.

As a result, each of the Tesla cars is potentially as intelligent (or at least predicting) as each of the others.If one of them makes a mistake (even when it comes to manual driving correction in a specific lane), the others may potentially never make a similar mistake again.This is of course a great simplification, because for machine learning you need gigantic amounts of data, but ... after all, several hundred thousand Tesla goes on a daily basis on the road.

Usefulness: We'll see who will win the race on the way to full driving autonomy

... talk to other cars

Exchanging with this information.This solution was tested by M.in.Volvo and Mercedes, after which an agreement was finally established, under which cars of these brands, as well as BMW and Ford, will in some time inform each other about any threats.

Examples?If a collision occurs a few kilometers ahead of us, the car will notify us about this fact, with this information from another car.E.g.participating in a collision or abruptly inhibiting him.We will also find out that M.in.About the fact that there is slippery/difficult surface ahead of us - because in a car riding a few kilometers ahead of us, saving systems from such blades worked.

It is a pity that this system will develop rather slowly, and its usefulness will depend completely on how many new cars will appear on the roads.And how new our car will be.

Usefulness: high, ale kiedyś.Very, very.

... to check us in checking the car

This is a bit dangerous because we stop monitoring our car ourselves.Why check the level of inflating tires regularly, since this parameter is displayed on the screen?Why check the oil level if something shows up when starting the engine on the display?Why check anything properly, unless the right indicator light on the dashboard?

Unfortunately, as is the case with any system, there may always be an exception.Some incorrect reading that will disturb the results, thus leading to a dangerous situation.

And just like with an adaptive cruise control or lane assistant, we can not forget that we have control over the car, and in this case you have to get dirty a little at least once in a while and see the elements of the car that we can reviewindependently.Just for safety.

Usefulness: let's not go crazy.

So calling for help is not a great impression.

However, it is good that it is.On the other hand, it would be better if a system was able to prevent idiotic driving before.

Although it would be best if people did not need any of these systems ...