Chevy has an array of tech designed to keep you safe, and the Chevy forward collision alert is just one of them. Here's how it works.
Where It's Helpful
It's actually quite common to be following along at a consistent speed, maybe even with your cruise control on, talking to your passengers or even engrossed in your own thoughts, and miss that the vehicle in front of you has started dropping speed quickly. Forward collision alert will let you know about this.
The other situation where it's very helpful is when you are inadvertently tailgating too closely. This is a dangerous situation, and if you were to collide with the vehicle in front of you, you would be held primarily responsible, even if the other driver failed to signal. That's because the laws of Ohio (and most states you might travel to) always assume fault on the part of the following car in these situations. It's easy to misjudge how much space there is between us and a vehicle ahead of us, so Chevy's tech takes care of that for you.
How It Works
Depending on which vehicle you have, your Chevy will have one or more cameras and radar that will work together to monitor the road. It's vital to have more than one type of monitor going, since environmental conditions could fool a camera alone or a radar alone but can't easily fool them both simultaneously. When you have forward collision turned on, you'll get a green light on your dash when a vehicle is detected ahead of you.Â
If that icon turns amber, that means you're following it too closely. If you're following the vehicle at speed and a collision is imminent, you'll get a red alert and a series of high-pitched beeps to warn you. Some Chevy vehicle vehicles have a safety alert seat feature that will pulse your seat. If your vehicle also has automatic emergency braking, this will kick in if you don't brake in time.
Making It Yours
If you have the safety alert seat feature, you can turn this on or off. You can also turn off the automatic emergency braking feature so that you just get the alerts. Your steering wheel controls will also let you set the timing of your forward collision alerts. There are three options for far, medium, and near, and after you choose one of these, the vehicle will adjust based on your speed. Think about the traffic and weather conditions when you select your timing. If it's raining heavily, for example, you probably want your timing set to "far" because it's going to take you extra time to come to a stop.
For more on how to use this feature and the other security features of your Chevy, contact us at Coughlin Chevrolet of Pataskala, OH today.
