The 5 most innovative car safety technologies

Today's car safety tech isn't just focusing on the vehicle's occupants, but also on avoiding impending collisions with pedestrians and animals, as well as keeping drivers paying attention and focused on the road ahead. 

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These five safety features can make driving a little bit less of the dangerous free-for-all that it is.

Volvo XC90
Volvo
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Some models from Land Rover are equipped with external airbags that help save pedestrians from severe injuries.

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Land Rover

The Land Rover Discovery has a sensor tube in the front bumper which can detect if a pedestrian is struck by the car. If an impact is detected, an airbag is deployed from right in front of the windshield and is used to soften the pedestrian's impact.

Similar tech was also used on some of Volvo's cars.

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Volvo City Safety can prevent drivers from hitting pedestrians and bicyclists at speeds up to about 30 MPH.

150127_The_all_new_Volvo_XC90_City_Safety
Volvo

Volvo's City Safety tech helps drivers avoid collisions with oncoming cars when making turns, head-on collisions, and pedestrians bikes crossing the car's path.

If you're a lazy city driver who has a hard time staying attentive behind the wheel, you're going to want this tech in your next car.

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Many high-end luxury cars can be equipped with a night-vision display.

Audi night visiion
Audi

BMW's 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz's S-Class, and Audi's A8 (among others) can be equipped with various night-vision displays which can be used to identify objects ahead in the road at night, which might otherwise be difficult to see even with headlights on.

Yes, it's pretty much novelty tech, but if you have a car where the system truly works and you're able to put it to use in the right conditions, it can be a lifesaver.

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Toyota’s Easy Speak feature makes it easier for the driver to communicate with backseat passengers.

easy speak
Toyota

In Toyota's Sienna minivan, Easy Speak allows drivers to speak through the car's sound system to talk to third row passengers more easily. 

This means that instead of parents turning around and taking their eyes off the road to yell at their children all the way in the back, their fury can safely be delivered through the car's speakers.

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Cadillac's rear camera mirror improves rear visibility.

Cadillac Mirror
Cadillac

Cadillac claims that its rear camera mirror allows for "300 percent more vision" than a standard rearview mirror. That's a lot more vision!

Considering that it's a pretty minor change with a pretty good return in safety benefits, I don't doubt that we'll see this on a bunch other GM cars. The rear camera mirror is currently available on the Cadillac CT6 and XT5. 

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