Active Safety Features

Active safety features are those that help to prevent or mitigate road crashes. Unlike passive safety features – which are designed to protect vehicle occupants once a crash has occurred – active safety features will engage to either prevent the crash from occurring, or reduce the severity of an unavoidable crash.

There are several ways that active safety features can help prevent crashes. Some features like forward collision warning systems and lane departure warning systems activate a warning system when potentially dangerous situations are detected. Other safety features like electronic stability control, anti-lock braking systems, and brake assist monitor the vehicle’s tires and brake systems for any signs that tailored braking is necessary in order to avoid a collision. Other active safety features work as failsafe measures to protect against driver errors. For example, brake override engages to deactivate the accelerator pedal in the event that both the gas and the brake pedal are pushed down simultaneously.

What all active safety features have in common is that they constantly monitor one or more aspects of the vehicle for potential hazards. These features work silently in the background, checking the rotation speed of the tires, the location of the vehicle within its lane, or the position of the gas and brake pedals relative to each other. When something problematic is detected, active safety features act autonomously to correct the situation safely.

Active safety features offer an extra layer of protection on the road. While they cannot replace a safe and attentive driver, these features can be relied on to engage when they are most needed. To find out more about active safety features, how they work, and what types of crashes they can prevent, continue clicking through the safety features on the left side menu. Or, search specific features to learn more about them.

Visual rebranding is in progress for the following resources.