Helping hands

Cars are more clever than they've ever been. They're more aware of other vehicles, and some even talk to each other for updates on traffic and parking.

Some can drive themselves for short stretches. In reality, they can drive themselves for long stretches, staying within a lane and maintaining the speed of traffic, but auto makers usually limit the driverless time to limit their liability.

These cars are also much more complicated, and their driver's manuals are thicker. Most BMW dealerships employ "product geniuses," separate from sales staff, to explain the features.

"The product genius is really an adjunct to the sales-consultant team," says Rob Dexter, BMW Canada's product and technology specialist.

"They're not there to sell the car – they're there to demonstrate the car."

Toyota is also teaching drivers about the new safety features through special training sessions for sales staff.

"We're introducing a comprehensive awareness and education campaign to help Canadian drivers understand these systems and experience them first-hand," says Cyril Dimitris, vice-president of Toyota Canada.

Different auto makers have different proprietary names for their software, but these are the main ones. They mostly use combinations of radar, sonar and camera image recognition to see other cars and objects. Here's how they work:

Blind-spot warning

The blind-spot in a driver's vision is countered by either low-range radar or sonar transmitters aimed specifically at this hidden area. When they detect an obstacle that would be in the way if you want to change lanes, a warning light will show in the mirror. If you put on the indicator to change lanes, a warning chime will sound.

Active cruise control

This feature allows the car to drive either at a set speed or the speed of the car in front without touching the accelerator or brake pedal. When you set the cruise control for a specific speed, the car will shoot a radar or sonar beam ahead to detect the distance to any vehicle in front. Some, like Subaru, use just camera-image detection, while others use a combination of the two. You can adjust this distance with a switch on the steering wheel. Once your car gets close enough to the vehicle in front, it will automatically slow down to that vehicle's speed. Infinitis were the first cars to actually stop in traffic and then resume cruising speed, but most premium vehicles now offer this.

Front collision warning/assistance

The same radar or sonar and cameras that detect objects in front for active cruise control detects an obstacle ahead you must brake to avoid: a car slowing suddenly, or a pedestrian crossing the road, or an animal. If the car thinks you should brake, large red lights will flash and the brakes will be prepped for application – if you press the pedal, it will press it even harder. If you do nothing, the car will apply the brakes itself to avoid or mitigate a crash. Some cars, including Volvos and Mercedes-Benz, can detect if the obstacle has two legs or four, and will brake harder for the two-legged one. Ford is introducing a dedicated form of pedestrian detection in its 2017 Fusion to counter the growing problem of people texting on phones while walking. "We were startled to see how oblivious people could be of a 4,000-pound car coming toward them," says Aaron Mills, a Ford safety engineer.

Lane-departure warning

Cameras in the front of your car, usually behind the side mirrors or rear-view mirror, detect lane markings. If your car starts to change lanes, a warning light and chime will prompt you to steer back into the lane. It's just a warning though. This is now a common feature on the high-end versions of most affordable cars. Volkswagens and Infinitis, among others, vibrate the steering wheel and Cadillacs vibrate the driver's seat on the side that's crossing the line. In theory, this happens because you're drowsy; in practice, it's more likely because you're texting.

Lane-departure assistance

One step further than just warning the driver, "assistance" actually steers the car back into the lane by either gently applying the brakes on your car's opposite side – the most common method – or directly turning the wheel. This doesn't happen if the indicators are on because you intend to turn out of the lane, and it won't work for more than 30 seconds before you're instructed to hold the wheel. Five years ago, only high-end versions of premium cars such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW offered this, but now even the Honda Civic offers the feature.

Rear cross-traffic alert

Handy in shopping-mall parking lots, your car sends a sonar or radar beam out from behind the vehicle and pointed to the left and right. If you parked forward into the parking space, your car will warn you with lights and a chime if it detects something coming as you back up. Some cars, like the Infiniti QX60, will hit the brakes to stop you. This has become a popular feature – most vehicles that offer blind-spot warning now extend their sensors to intercept sideways traffic.

Parking assistance

This has become so effective that driving examiners in Germany allow its use during driver exams. Most cars have guidelines on their rear-view camera screens to show where the car will go as you turn the wheel. Active assistance will use radar and sonar to detect where other vehicles are and will steer the car into a parallel parking space. Really clever cars will back themselves automatically into a perpendicular space, such as in a shopping-mall parking lot. Many Ford models come with a parallel park assistant where all the driver has to do is press the gas or brake. And really, really clever cars, such as the BMW 7 Series, will let you get out and then park your car from the sidewalk with just the press of a button on the key fob.

More advanced technology is developed and coming soon to standard cars. For example, Tesla and the Mercedes E-Class can already change lanes without driver input.

Traffic-jam autopilot will let drivers go hands-free in stop-and-go situations. With autonomous valet parking, the car will drop off passengers at a restaurant, seek out a parking spot and return by itself when summoned via smartphone. And Mercedes, Toyota/Lexus and Audi have demonstrated highway autopilot, going back four years.

While these features can do a lot to improve safety, many auto makers and other groups warn they are only assistants.

Drivers must still pay attention and not be lulled into a false sense of security.

This is the second article in a seven-part multimedia series on self-driving cars that examines the past, the current technology and what the future may hold.