Tailgating is one of the crucial reasons for accidents. That’s why maintaining a safe following distance is essential. A following distance indicator is one such system that helps avoid accidents by maintaining a safe following distance. It is a technology by General Motors, equipped in Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles.
Here’s more about the following distance indicator, its working and how it differs from the adaptive cruise control.
What Is the Following Distance Indicator?
The following distance indicator is part of GM’s active safety features and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). It helps maintain a safe distance during a traffic jam. Besides, it improves safety by minimising the risk of accidents. All-in-all, this technology helps prevent collisions from the rear due to tailgating.
How Does the Following Distance Indicator Work?
The following distance indicator uses a camera at the front and a radar system to detect the vehicles in front. The safe following distance is 3 seconds away from the car ahead. When the radars detect a vehicle 0.5 to 2.5 seconds away, it alerts the driver reminding them of the safe following distance.
The system helps avoid tailgating and minimises the risk of accidents in rush hours, at emergency stops or where you require a lane change. This indicator calculates the time by taking the speed of both vehicles and the distance between them.
It is important to note that the following distance indicator working is only required if the adaptive cruise control is turned off. However, the drivers won’t need a following distance indicator since the cruise control will monitor and detect the vehicles ahead and maintain a speed accordingly.
How to Use the Following Distance Indicator
Select the following distance indicator or gap settings on the car instrument cluster to activate this indicator. Once you select the options, it will display a safe following time. However, if the adaptive cruise control is on, it will display dashes instead of time.
Moreover, if the vehicle ahead isn’t in the range of different car sensor types and radar, it will display dashes instead of time.
Benefits of the Following Distance Indicator
In traffic hours, sometimes a driver may forget the safe following distance. However, this indicator will alert the driver when the vehicle ahead is just 2.5 seconds away. Besides, it will offer the following benefits:
- This indicator will help maintain a safe following distance.
- It will help the driver avoid collisions with the forward vehicles.
- The alerts will allow one to apply brakes on time.
- It will reduce the strain on brakes, again and again, potentially reducing the wear and tear.
FAQs
What Affects the Ability of the Following Distance Indicator?
Rainy or dusty conditions that affect the visibility can affect the performance of the following distance indicator. Besides, if the windshield and its surrounding area aren’t clean, the radar and sensors might not be able to work properly. Also, check the location of the camera from the car’s owner’s manual to clean it accordingly.
Which Vehicles have the following distance Indicator?
The following distance indicator is part of General Motors’ active safety features. You can find this feature on Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick car models.
What is a safe following distance?
The recommended safe following distance is 3 seconds away from the car ahead.
These were all the details about the following distance indicator by GM. Besides, it is available on other new and used cars for sale in the UAE. You can find more details about modern car safety features that help protect drivers and passengers from accidents and mishaps.
Stay tuned to the dubizzle autos blog for more information on the latest car features.
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