One of the main things people tend to look for before purchasing a new family-friendly vehicle is safety systems. Luckily the new lineup of Toyota SUVs, trucks, and cars comes with the most advanced safety sense systems. From enhanced visibility to lane-keeping assistance, this suite of state-of-the-art features helps prevent accidents on the road. It also comes standard on almost every new Toyota model. Let’s take a closer look to see what you can expect.
Toyota Safety Sense Systems in a Nutshell
Created to keep you and your loved ones safe wherever you go, the latest Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 covers a wide range of concerns. From frontal collisions to side-swipes, you can rest assured that these systems are all working in unison to make your driving experience as safe and accident-free as possible.
The new safety suite was built off of the previous TSS-C and TSS-P systems. As of this writing, nearly every new Toyota vehicle comes standard with automatic high beams, road sign assist, lane-departure alert, pre-collision warning, dynamic radar cruise control, and lane-tracing assist. But keep in mind that the vehicles are still not fully self-driving and that these systems are merely designed to assist the human driver.
Automatic High Beams
We’ve all experienced it before. You’re driving down an empty highway at night, and suddenly an oncoming vehicle with its bright lights on temporarily blinds you. Sometimes the other driver is considerate and turns down the high beams, but more often than not, they forget they even had the bright lights turned on. Not only does this experience cause discomfort, but it is also very dangerous. With the automatic high beams included in the Toyota Safety Sense package, you won’t have to worry about blinding other drivers on the road.
The automatic high beam control function works with a front-facing camera that has been mounted to the windshield. This camera will detect oncoming headlights and even the taillights of other vehicles in front of you. When another vehicle’s lights are detected, the system will toggle from high beams to low beams.
This advanced system is not only convenient for you as a driver, but it also helps to reduce glare for your fellow drivers on the road. When the road is clear, the high beams will toggle back on for optimized visibility. You will be able to see clearly ahead of you for quite a ways until another vehicle approaches.
Road Sign Assist
Whether you are traveling at night, during heavy rainfall, or just through an unfamiliar state, sometimes it can be difficult to read the road signs. Luckily, the new Safety Sense Systems include the Road Sign Assist function. Designed to keep you informed at all times, this unique feature can be a lifesaver.
Using an intelligent front-facing camera, the Road Sign Assist system can easily read stop signs, yield signs, do not enter signs, and even speed limit signs. This information is then displayed on the vehicle’s Multi-Information Display in the instrument cluster. Not only can this help to prevent accidents, but it can also help you to avoid getting a ticket.
Lane-Departure Alert
If you have ever taken a long road trip, then you already know that it can be difficult to stay awake sometimes. While drowsiness is common, it is also extremely dangerous. That’s why the Lane-Departure Alert feature was added to the collection of Safety Sense Systems.
A front-facing camera is used to detect any changes on the road ahead. It uses Road Edge Detection technology to detect curbs and edges as well as lane markings. Keeping you up-to-date on the road conditions, this operation displays the lane markings via a colorful illustration on the MID.
Taking things a step further, this system can also detect when your vehicle is beginning to deviate from your designated lane. If you begin to drift, the system will prompt you to return to your original lane with an audible alert. Taking no action to correct will result in the Steering Assist system kicking in. This feature will gently guide your Toyota vehicle back to the correct lane using the electric power steering.
Pre-Collision Warning
As you may have noticed, front-facing cameras seem to get all the action with the Safety Sense Systems. The Pre-Collision Warning system with pedestrian detection is no different. It also uses a front-facing camera along with a grille-mounted radar system. Designed to help prevent frontal collisions, it works for oncoming vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.
When an obstacle is detected ahead, the system will immediately alert you with a notification and audible chime. At this point, you should take evasive action. However, if no action is taken, the Pre-Collision Warning system will assume control over the braking system in order to bring the vehicle to a complete stop safely. This is especially useful in Toyota SUVs and minivans – traveling with small children can be distracting, and this system can help prevent possibly fatal accidents.
Dynamic Radar Cruise Control
Have you ever set your cruise control on the highway and suddenly needed to slam on the brakes to avoid colliding with a traffic jam? It’s all too common these days. This is why the engineers at Toyota have designed the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control system. Using the front-facing camera and the aforementioned grille-mounted radar sensors, this system monitors the speed of other vehicles in front of you.
You can set your desired speed into the cruise control as usual. In addition, you may also set the following distance that the system will maintain throughout your journey. If the flow of traffic slows down or comes to a halt for whatever reason, the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control system will slow your vehicle to meet the new traffic flow. It will also return your vehicle to the original speed once traffic resumes its normal pace. Features included in this system are speed matching, low-speed following, deceleration, stopping, and acceleration.
Lane-Tracing Assist
The last feature in the Toyota Safety Sense package is Lane-Tracing Assist. Created to work in unison with the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control system, this function was designed for a very specific purpose – it prevents the vehicle from making unintentional lane changes. When the lane markings are visible, and the Dynamic Radar Cruise control system is active, Lane-Tracing Assist will be on.
Using the front-facing camera, this system keeps track of the lane markings and passing vehicles. But unlike Lane-Departure Alert, Lane-Tracing assist makes consistent steering inputs to help to keep your vehicle centered in your designated lane. However, please keep in mind that this is not a full self-driving system, and it will only work if you have your hands on the steering wheel.
Find a Toyota SUV
The newest lineup of Toyota SUVs is better than ever before. If you have been searching for the perfect set of wheels for your family, a Toyota model is a safe bet. Since nearly every vehicle in the fleet now comes with the updated Safety Sense Systems, you can rest assured that your loved ones will be protected every time you travel. Want to take one of these vehicles out for a spin to see how these systems function in person? Head over to your local Toyota dealership today!
