The world is getting much safer, a fact that is especially important for anyone who takes to the state's roads regularly. Unfortunately, NSW roads are still a dangerous place, with the many accidents affecting both drivers and their passengers.
Thankfully, there are a range of developments likely to alter this in the future, as vehicle safety technology improves to the point where it limits driver error.
According to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), as many as 90 per cent of all accidents across the country are the result of mistakes people make. Improved safety technology could reduce the pressure on car accident compensation cases and make the roads a less dangerous place to be.
How will technology affect car accident compensation?
In light of ANCAP's statistics revealing that the overwhelming majority of vehicle accidents are caused by human error, any technology that reduces these mistakes is likely to be an essential component in making the roads safer.
A significant number of automotive manufacturers have realised airbags and other safety features that only activate in an accident are not the best way to reduce the likelihood of drivers sustaining injuries.
In these cases, the technologies are activating too late. While an airbag may prevent a driver or passenger from dying during a crash, the body of the victim still has to take a significant impact.
For this reason, autonomous safety features are being seen as a revolution for the automotive industry, as they will serve a preventative rather than reactive role.
However, these technologies will only make the state's roads safer if people actually buy new cars that come equipped with it, a trend McKinsey & Company noted may be slow to take hold.
According to the organisation, adoption rates are still low, but there are some positives. So far, the majority of people who have purchased cars with these features would consider repurchasing them. These include systems such as autonomous emergency braking, where are vehicle can stop itself if it detects the driver hasn't reacted to an imminent threat.
McKinsey & Company found that people are at least informed about the technology. While 70 per cent of new car buyers are aware of its influence, just 30 per cent have driven a vehicle that's equipped with these systems.
While the roads are getting safer, accidents still happen. Get in touch with the lawyers at Gerard Malouf and Partners if you have a car accident injury case to discuss.