As experienced drivers and vehicle owners can readily attest, today's vehicles are safer than ever before Thanks to passive safety improvements like driver and passenger air bags, steel reinforced side beams, innovative seat restraints and frames that include engineered crumple zones, impressive reductions in vehicle accident fatalities have been witnessed

Envelope-pushing automotive engineers and suppliers continue to help vehicle manufacturers make vehicles safer by providing a complete portfolio of active and passive safety products that are being continually improved through engineering design innovation It's been two decades since automotive engineers tackled the challenge of converting very expensive, low-volume, military aerospace radar systems into less expensive, high-volume radar for passenger cars

Technology gurus are hiding in a variety of places these days Say, for instance, the automotive industry

It started out simple enough Historians may argue the chronology, but "Active Safety" likely began with the "horn," an effective way to alert the guy ahead of you that you might run into him if he doesn't move

Recent innovations in automotive engineering have produced active safety systems ranging from side alert, often called blind spot warning, to adaptive cruise control, to collision detection and warning What this means to the average consumer will change over time as these products become increasingly available

It turns out all those fancy automotive safety devices cannot only help save lives, they can also save cash According to The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, roughly $230

There was a time when a static-filled sound box and a bag of greasy drive-in popcorn had to suffice for vehicle theater entertainment Today's vehicle manufacturers have taken the theater experience of yesteryear and brought it into the 21st century with a virtual in-car entertainment system

Drivers have had a long love affair with their car audio systems A smooth ride and even smoother tunes are an impeccable combination

Inclement weather has created hazardous road conditions After your car maneuvers around a bend in the road, you encounter a collision

Despite advances in technology and the development of new automotive security devices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that auto theft occurs every 264 seconds in the United States

As consumers discover the advantages of in-vehicle entertainment, the automotive industry is experiencing surging interest in further developing the automotive technology Features such as rear-seat DVD players and satellite radio have been especially successful