Exploring Buick Safety Features: What to Look Out For

One day, we’ll have autonomous cars. Do you know what will always be a part of the driving experience? Safety. That’s right, vehicles can always be safer, and that’s why the never-ending research and development we’ve seen within the past ten years alone makes it immediately evident how far we’ve come. Some of the most talented engineers in the world have collaborated on bringing a wide range of new features to newer automobiles, all to prevent accidents that were more prevalent in the past. If you’re looking for a Johns Creek Buick dealer because you’ve heard about the exceptional reliability that Buick vehicles have, then you heard right. Buick safety features are among some of the best in the business, and you can find many of these advanced amenities in many Buick models.

Before the age of legitimate safety features, drivers had nothing but vigilance to protect them from various dangers. This simple idea of making automotive travel safer turned out to be a never-ending inspiration to many manufacturers and their engineering teams, Buick included. Of course, we aren’t simply talking about airbags and seatbelts here. Although Buick vehicles harness an intelligent airbag system, we’re discussing assistive features to aid you on the road to maximize the safety of yourself, your passengers, and those around you. Buick classifies its safety features as ones that can “Perceive, Prevent, and Protect,” three key phrases that best describe how your new vehicle will work to keep you safe. Let’s talk about what you can expect here, and then after reading this article, you can contact us with any questions or take a trip down to Rick Hendrick Buick GMC Duluth and begin shopping.

Forward Collision Alert

One of the worst and most common types of accidents is the front-end collision. Two possible factors cause this type of collision—either the driver lost attention, or more commonly, something unforeseeable happens. In some cases, pedestrians may not be paying attention when crossing the street, or a cyclist can take an unexpected turn if they don’t use their hand signals correctly. Regardless of the situation, it’s up to the driver to respond accordingly. This thought led engineers to realize that a machine can render a reaction faster than any human could.

Meet the Forward Collision Alert, an integrated system that can stop front-end collisions from ever occurring. Imagine you’re casually driving down the street and approaching a red light. Suddenly, you drop something crucially important or even dangerous (let’s use a cup of hot coffee). For a second, all of your attention is focused on the cup of coffee, and you can’t apply your brakes quickly enough, promptly hitting the vehicle stopped at the light.

Whether this prevents an inconvenience or a disastrous event to you is entirely subjective in this situation, the fact is that any driver is prone to losing focus for one reason or another. Reasons like this are why Buick has developed their Forward Collision Alert, which will work in two ways. First, an audible tone plays along with a visual display, and depending on the model you have, your seat may vibrate too. The point of this is to give you as much time as possible to react naturally without the assistance of the vehicle. The second way is then to utilize the latest technology to intervene if needed.

So, what if there hasn’t been a collision, but you’re still in danger of one? Not leaving enough distance between yourself and other drivers is the most common way, commonly referred to as “tailgating.” Buick vehicles stop you in your track by alerting you that you’re dangerously close to a vehicle that could instantly cause a collision should they unexpectedly press on their brakes.

A Forward-Looking Solution

All of the talks regarding alert systems lead us to the main reason the Forward Collision Alert is so important—automatic braking. When all else doesn’t work, your Buick vehicle will bring the vehicle to a halt, which can stop any accident in the best-case scenario or lessen the severity of one in the worst case. It’s worth noting that it’s not likely to work the same at high speeds and is most useful in an urban or suburban area.

There’s another added benefit that we haven’t discussed yet, which is Front Pedestrian Braking. While the Forward Collision Alert remains active, the vehicle can recognize both humans and vehicles within its path. It’ll then use the same technology as it would if your vehicle was about to collide with another. Again, your seat will vibrate in these situations, should you have the specialized alert seat equipped in your Buick.

Stay In Your Lane

We’d say that out of all of the vehicle manufacturers in the world, Buick is held in one of the highest regards in highway travel. Nowadays, this is evident from all of the advanced safety features for such an occasion. We’re talking about Lane Change Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert, Lane Keep Assist, and Lane Departure Warning. Starting with the latter two, Lane Keep Assist is designed to do exactly as it sounds, and it allows the vehicle to perform slight steering adjustments when straying from your lane to bring it back to where it was before. Lane Departure Warning, on the other hand, will activate first, and like the aforementioned Forward Collision Alert System, its purpose is to regain the driver’s awareness before an accident.

What’s highway travel without changing lanes? That’s the nature of traveling on the freeway, and even if you plan on sticking to the right lane, sometimes you have to make the switch. Alternatively, if you need an extra boost in your travel time, you switch to the left lane. Changing lanes can be tricky, however, especially for first-time drivers. Buick vehicles with Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert will flash an indicator on whichever side mirror detects a vehicle approaching. Blind spots aren’t just a clever name—we generally can’t as easily see what’s going on back there while going 60 mph or more on the freeway. Thanks to the warning you get with these features, you’ll know exactly what side it’s coming from. Better yet, if you stick with that safety alert seat that we mentioned earlier, each side will vibrate per the side view mirror with the flashing indicator.

Better Safe Than Sorry

Two phrases come to mind when discussing safety features from any big-name manufacturer. The first phrase is simple with a clear message—“Better safe than sorry.” The second one holds an equal amount of weight—”It’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” The way we see it here at Rick Hendrick Buick GMC is that it’s not rocket science. You should have peace of mind from each safety feature you’ll find in your Buick vehicle. Combined with your extensive driving experience and knowledge, you’ll be in a much better position than someone who doesn’t have any of these safety features in their vehicle. Fortunately, it won’t be hard to find Buick vehicles for sale that can offer these features as Buick continuously moves towards a bright future regarding driver safety and trust.