How Does Forward Collision Warning Work?

By Christian Wardlaw 08/13/2021 4:00pm

Though forward collision warning (FCW) has been available for more than 15 years, you might not know what it is or what it does. Let’s take a closer look at this technology.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), forward collision warning reduces front-to-rear crashes with injuries by 27%. When combined with automatic braking, the system cuts accident rates with injuries by 56%.

What is Forward Collision Warning?

Forward collision warning is a driver safety system that uses radar, lasers, or cameras to detect other vehicles in the front area of the driver’s car. Some safety systems can also detect other objects, like people, cyclists, and animals in the path of a moving vehicle.

How Forward Collision Warning Works

If your vehicle is equipped with this safety feature, the system alerts the driver through visual, aural, or tactile methods. Sometimes it issues a warning in just one of these ways, and sometimes with a combination of warnings. It depends on the system’s design and, if the option to customize the notification exists, how the vehicle’s owner has calibrated it.

Not all of them work the same way.

If the system employs automatic emergency braking, the technology can slow or stop the vehicle before impact if the driver takes no action. If the system is not paired with automatic emergency braking, it will only warn the driver, who must take action.

Some forward collision warning systems operate only at slower city speeds. Others work at higher speeds. Some systems can detect pedestrians, bicyclists, and large animals, while others cannot. Some cars include rear collision warnings, and others don’t.

If this seems confusing to you, check your owner’s manual. It will explain your vehicle’s capabilities.

If you buy a vehicle equipped with a warning system, it is crucial that you understand how it works. You need to know what it can and cannot do to help you avoid a collision.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) says that 40% of drivers who own a vehicle with the system do not understand its limitations. Also, they fail to realize that forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking are not the same.

Forward Collision Warning is No Substitute for Staying Alert

For safety reasons, always stay alert while behind the wheel. Think twice before turning off the forward collision warning system. It’s a safety feature that can help save your life.

If you own a vehicle equipped with forward collision warning, the systems that provide the information to the technology don’t always work. This technology is an occasional aid to a driver, not a regular replacement for a driver.

Open that owner’s manual so that you know what your forward collision warning system can and cannot do.