Safety is one of the most important things that customers consider before buying a new car, and the latest cars have a lot of safety technologies. Many of those new technologies are called smart safety technology, and they all use a lot of science to ensure that you stay safe. One of the latest smart safety technologies is traffic sign recognition, and here’s a quick look at it.

What is traffic sign recognition and how does it work?

Unlike other more complicated smart safety technologies, traffic sign recognition systems are exactly what its name says it is. Like Carwow says, it’s just a system that will look at and recognize traffic signs. It will then display to you, usually on your car’s touch screen or driver information screen, what that sign said. 

The way it works is relatively simple, too. There’s a camera facing forward attached to your car and through some advanced science, it can tell whether or not there’s a traffic sign ahead.

The science is complicated, but almost everybody on the Internet has helped out with it. If you’ve ever been asked by a website to prove that you’re a human and to check the boxes that have a stop sign in them, you’ve helped make traffic sign recognition possible.

Why this feature is good

While traffic sign recognition might seem like a simple safety technology that may not necessarily be useful, it’s actually very useful. Like Carwow explained, traffic sign recognition does a couple of things for the safety of the driver and their passengers. 

First, it reduces the hassle that drivers have. Modern cars have a lot going on, and that can be very distracting. Those distractions can, unfortunately, be dangerous or even deadly.

So, many automakers who are focused on safety are doing their part to reduce how many distractions a driver may have while driving. By not having to look at and read the large number of traffic signs that pass them by, drivers can focus on the road instead.

Secondly, there are a lot of traffic signs out there, and some of them are more useful than others. Like Carwow said, if a driver missed a sign, then their traffic sign recognition system has got their back and can remind them of it.

This can be useful for traffic reasons, such as driving below the speed limit, but it can also be useful for avoiding any road hazards that are coming along the way.

Which cars have traffic sign recognition

Because of how new this smart safety technology is, not many cars have it as an option. But, the latest and most advanced cars certainly do. Additionally, luxury cars also frequently have access to traffic sign recognition technology.

For example, Carwow says that some of the cars that have access to traffic sign recognition technology include: the Audi A8, the Mercedes S-Class, the Mercedes E-Class, the BMW 1 series, the BMW 5 series, the BMW 7 series, and the Ford Focus. On top of these cars, carwow mentions that Volvo offers traffic sign recognition technology on every single one of its cars.

This is still a very new technology, and other automakers are working on offering it in their cars too. It won’t be long before the most popular cars on the market have it as an option, as traffic sign recognition technology is not only a simple safety feature, but also an effective one as well.

Currently, it usually costs a premium to have it on your car, but eventually, it may become part of the standard suite of smart safety technology that most automakers offer.