ABCs of Automotive Safety: Understanding Common Vehicle Safety Acronyms
From ABS to ACC, a clear guide to the safety systems found in today’s vehicles
It could be argued that acronyms and initialisms are overused, especially when it comes to automotive safety systems. Look at a sales brochure, car review, or an article on vehicle and traffic safety and you would think that someone had spilled a bowl of alphabet soup over the contents. Here’s a guide to what some of these letters mean.
ABS: Anti-Lock Braking System
Anti-lock brakes keep the wheels from locking (meaning they have stopped turning) during emergency stops or when stopping on slippery surfaces. Locking the wheels when braking may result in a loss of control, which can lead to skids and spinouts and impact your ability to steer. ABS is now standard equipment.
ESC: Electronic Stability Control
This system senses when a car is beginning to skid. It then does something even a skilled driver cannot do. It uses a single brake to help the driver regain control. It has been required on all passenger vehicles since 2012.
AEB: Automatic Emergency Braking
This feature will be required on all cars and light trucks starting in September 2029. It is already optional or standard in some models now. When the vehicle senses an object ahead and concludes that if nothing is done a collision is imminent, it will apply the brakes. Some systems react to large objects, such as another car, and pedestrians. Other systems do not recognize pedestrians. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) projects that when AEB becomes universal it “will save at least 360 lives a year and prevent at least 24,000 injuries annually.”
FCW: Forward Collision Warning
This feature warns a driver that a collision is imminent but leaves it up to the driver to take the appropriate action to prevent or mitigate the crash. Some FCW systems can recognize either a vehicle or a pedestrian that is in the path of travel. Others are only able to recognize a vehicle. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), cars with FCW and AEB had between 27 percent and 50 percent fewer rear-end crashes, compared to cars without these systems.
BSW: Blind Spot Warning
Despite the facts that many side mirrors do not give a complete picture of what might be beside a vehicle, and that many people do not adjust these mirrors correctly, drivers still make lane changes without checking visually, which is needed to verify that the spot in the next lane is open. BSW systems can warn a driver that there is a vehicle lurking out of sight beside the car. Systems use lights (which will sometimes start flashing if the turn signal is activated), chimes or haptic warnings to alert a driver of the potential conflict.
LDW: Lane Departure Warning
This feature warns a driver who is drifting out of a marked lane.
LKA: Lane Keep Assist
LKA goes a step further by intervening to nudge the car back into a lane if the driver is distracted and the car starts to drift. The feature can be easily overcome in an emergency. These systems vary in their effectiveness and the precision with which they keep the car centered in a lane. Signaling a lane change cancels an LDW or LKA activation.
RCTW: Rear Cross Traffic Warning
If you have ever had to back out of a parking space in a crowded parking lot with your vision blocked on one or both sides, you can appreciate RCTW. It alerts the driver if a car is approaching from either side once the rear of the car gets slightly beyond the vehicles on either side blocking the view. Some cars will also brake automatically if a collision while backing seems likely.
ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control
Regular cruise control keeps the car going at a preset speed regardless of traffic ahead. Adaptive cruise control also maintains a preset speed, but if traffic ahead slows, it will slow, too, maintaining a safe gap between you and the car ahead. Some systems will even handle stop-and-go situations.
Many of these systems are grouped under the ADAS acronym, which stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. While they have had a positive effect on safety, it is important to use these features as a safety net and not rely on them to take over primary vehicle control functions. Drivers still need to pay full attention to the road.