» A truck, shown on a demonstration track, with its electronic stability control system turned off
(above) and on (below).
Photos courtesy of Bendix
March 2018 | VehicleServicePros.com 21
blind spot, low tire pressure or departure from the
current lane of travel. Some use cameras mounted
on the exterior of the vehicle to aff ord the driver a
view of the front, rear or 360 degrees around the
vehicle when making low-speed maneuvers, such
as parking or backing up. Others, such as Lytx’s
DriveCam, use cameras mounted inside the cab
to provide both a forward view of the road as well
as a view of the driver.
Active safety systems perform largely the
same role as passive safety systems, but they
are also able to automatically initiate actions
such as braking or steering if the driver does not
respond to warnings in time. Th ese systems can
help reduce the impact of collisions or even avoid
them entirely.
Th e diff erent types of vehicle safety systems
available for vehicle today include:
Passive safety systems
• Blind spot monitoring - Uses radar sensors or
machine vision to detect a vehicle in the driver’s
blind spot. In most cases, provides a visual warning
such as a light on or near the side-view mirrors.
• Front and rear proximity detection - Uses
ultrasonic sensors to determine how close the
vehicle is to objects in front of or behind it. Th ese
systems typically use a series of audible beeps
that grow faster and louder the closer the vehicle
gets to the object.
• Cameras
Backup camera - Mounted on the rear of the
vehicle to provide views when in reverse.
Front camera - Similar to the backup camera,
but mounted on the front of the vehicle to
provide views in low-speed situations such
as parking.
360-degree view - Uses cameras mounted
on the front, rear and sides of the vehicle to
create a 360-degree view around the entire
vehicle in low-speed situations.
• Forward monitoring - Machine vision camera
mounted inside the windshield looking forward
to monitor the vehicle’s behavior. When sudden
or erratic vehicle maneuvers or collisions are
detected, it records a short video clip and uploads
it to a database for review and potential driver
feedback or training. Forward monitoring cameras
are also used in lane departure warning and
lane keep assist.
• Driver monitoring - Similar to forward monitoring,
but monitoring driver behavior instead. When
sudden or erratic vehicle maneuvers or collisions
are detected, it records a short video clip of the
driver and uploads it to a database for review and
potential driver feedback or training.
• Forward collision warning - Uses forward facing
radar, LiDAR, machine vision or a combination of
these to detect an impending collision. Provides
audible and visual warnings to the driver.
• Lane departure warning - Uses machine vision
to detect the vehicle’s position on the road in relation
to clear lane markings. Provides an audible or
visual warning when the vehicle veers too close
to the edges of the lane.
• Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)
Indirect TPMS - Detects tire pressure based
on wheel rotations. Th is type of sensor works
based on the fact that an underinfl ated tire
will have a smaller diameter than a properly
infl ated tire, so it will turn slightly faster. It
cannot provide actual tire pressure information,
but will provide a warning when low
pressure is detected in any tire.
Direct TPMS - Uses a pressure sensor on each
wheel or inside each tire to measure actual
tire pressure. In some vehicles, it can provide
a readout inside the cab of the pressure of each
tire, and a warning if any tire is underinfl ated.
Keeping fleets on
the road with vehicle
safety technology
/VehicleServicePros.com