Explore the latest car safety features, from adaptive cruise control to airbags. Stay informed about advances that protect you, your passengers and others.
Article: 6 minutes
Updated: September 23, 2026 Published: January 25, 2022
By: USAA Reviewed by: Editorial contributors
Modern vehicle technology is rapidly advancing, offering a wide array of safety features that help prevent accidents, keep drivers alert and protect the car’s occupants. These technological innovations are transforming how vehicles operate and the ways they protect passengers and those around them.
Since the invention of the automobile in the late 1800s, progress in car safety hasn't always come swiftly. The familiar three-point seat belt didn't appear until 1959, and the first air bag hit the market in 1973.
Today, however, we're experiencing a remarkable, technology-driven renaissance in car safety, with developments coming so fast it's hard to keep up. Here's a guide to many of the latest advances in today's safety-feature landscape.
Modern vehicle technology isn't just about keeping you and your passengers safe in a collision. It may even help you avoid accidents in the first place.
To steer your car where you want to go, you need traction. But if you brake while driving in slick or icy conditions, your wheels could lock up and cause your vehicle to skid. An anti-lock braking system, or ABS, helps prevent your wheels from locking up so you can regain traction and steer to safety.
Here's a tip: If your car doesn't have ABS, you can pump the brakes to restore traction when your car begins skidding.
Cruise control maintains a safe, steady speed while driving. But there's no guarantee that other drivers on the road will keep their speed consistent, too.
Adaptive cruise control enables you to set your car's speed, and then it actively maintains a safe following distance from other cars by slowing down if necessary. Some systems can even stop the vehicle if traffic comes to a standstill and then return to the targeted speed when traffic allows it.
When driving in the dark, headlights help you see where you're going and spot potential hazards. But if your headlights only point forward, you may not get the illumination you need as you approach a sharp turn or hill.
Adaptive headlights can shift left, right, up or down, so light stays pointed on the road as you go around turns or over hills.
It only takes a few seconds of distraction for a collision to happen. But if your car is equipped with automatic emergency braking, or AEB, it can predict and prevent possible forward crashes. If a possible crash is detected, the system will alert you, and then it'll automatically apply the brake if you don't brake fast or hard enough.
Checking your blind spot is an important part of safe, defensive driving. Blind spot warning, or BWS, acts as a second pair of eyes that can alert you to the presence of objects in the area that aren’t visible through your side-view mirrors.
Perhaps the most effective tool for accident avoidance is an alert driver. These features help drivers stay alert, avoid distractions and maneuver safely.
If you swerve to avoid a crash or misjudge a turn, it's easy to lose traction and control. As a result, your vehicle may spin out.
Electronic stability control, or ESC, detects a lack of traction during extreme steering maneuvers and helps keep your vehicle moving in the intended direction.
If you're approaching another car or object, forward collision warning, or FCW, provides a visual and audio warning of an impending crash.
Unprotected left turns, and even protected ones, can be dangerous. Designed for low-speed turns at traffic lights and intersections, the left-turn crash avoidance feature warns you if you're turning in front of another car.
Detecting cars is one thing, but what about people? Cars enabled with pedestrian detection use sensors to alert you to pedestrians crossing your vehicle's path. Some systems will even brake automatically.
Keeping people safe while they're in your car is another important responsibility as a driver.
Perhaps the most well-known safety feature, airbags reduce injury by rapidly inflating to cushion drivers and passengers in a crash. But did you know that your car may have more airbags than just the ones in the steering wheel and dashboard or glove compartment? Airbags can also be in the seats, roof, door panel and even seatbelts, providing stronger protection for drivers and passengers.
If you've ever had children in your car, you probably understand the value of a cabin camera. This feature allows you to observe what's happening in the back seat without having to turn around, turning your back to the road ahead.
You may have heard devastating stories of drivers who have walked away from their vehicle, forgetting about a child or pet in the back seat. A rear seat reminder system could help prevent these types of tragedies by issuing an alert if the driver opened a rear door prior to driving.
In the event of an emergency, glow-in-the-dark levers can be used to open the trunk from the inside. Interior trunk release systems have been required in all cars manufactured since 2002, but be aware that older cars may not be equipped with this life-saving feature.
Parking may not be a major threat to your physical safety, but it's a common culprit behind fender benders and other accidents.
No one likes parallel parking, but if your car is equipped with parking assist, you don't have to worry about it. This handy feature uses sensors to automatically parallel park your vehicle.
Whether you're trying to squeeze into a narrow parking slot or avoid hitting your kids' favorite toys on the way out of the driveway, 360-degree camera parking can help. Using multiple cameras, this feature gives you a bird's-eye view of your car and its surroundings, so you can avoid unfortunate accidents and vehicle damage.
Modern safe driving features can be lifesavers for drivers and their passengers. They can even qualify you for some sweet auto insurance discounts. But the most important thing any driver can do to keep passengers safe is, well, drive safely.
Safe driving apps aren't a car safety feature, but they can help you develop safer driving habits and even save money.
Drivers can monitor their driving performance and identify areas for improvement using mobile applications that leverage GPS and other sensors. These applications capture personal driving data and transmit it to the insurance provider, which then uses the information to calculate a driving score. This score may be used to award discounts on insurance premiums at policy renewal for safe driving behaviors. Some policyholders may see discounts of up to 30% off their premium at renewal for good driving.
Explore available discount programs and discover how you can save on your premium by being a safe driver.