An adaptive cruise control is a pleasant aid for relaxed driving. The car not only maintains the set speed, but also brakes if there is an obstacle.
Driving skills expert Mark Maaskant of Road Safety Lab shows how such an adaptive cruise control is activated. “It’s simple. It’s a push of a button on your handlebars. And a symbol on your dashboard shows that the system is active.” It is important that you know well that it is on or off, so that no unexpected things can happen. You will see that if you use the system a lot, you will arrive at your destination less tired thanks to this extra pair of eyes. “In many cases, the system has been made intelligent, and a camera monitors the traffic signs,” explains Maaskant. “The system can then even automatically adapt to the applicable speed limit.”
Calibrate
Henk van Hoef of Bosch Car Service explains the system. “The cruise control is supplemented by a radar. And that radar sees whether someone is driving in front of you and adjusts the speed accordingly.” But Henk emphasizes that it is a sensitive system. “It’s important that it’s set up properly. Even after a small collision with a pole, the radar can deviate slightly.” He explains how it works: “Such a radar scans a precisely defined area in front of the car. But if the radar deviates slightly to the left, right, up or down, it may see obstacles that are not in the line of the car at all, or it may miss things that do happen in front of the car. So if you have had minor damage, visit your garage. They have the necessary equipment to calibrate the radar and any camera.”
| What is ADAS?
It is the abbreviation for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and that is the umbrella that many systems fall under. These are smart facilities that ensure that your car can, for example, park itself, keep your distance or suddenly recognize danger. |
Watch episode 4 of the mini-series below
Or have your safety systems checked at a Bosch Car Service branch near you.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl