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This is us talking shop and talking cars. Sometimes we go in-depth and analyze something, or we talk about car history or motorsports, or maybe we’re just giving our thoughts on something in the automotive industry.

Over the last few decades, the technology available in our cars has advanced by leaps and bounds. While Bluetooth phone call capabilities; and the seamless integration with mobile devices to allow for music streaming and navigation are very cool features in any vehicle, I think most would agree: some of the most important advancements are related to driver and passenger safety. Safety features are nearly as old as driving itself, with the most basic ones entering the scene shortly after driving became widespread.

For instance, the four-wheel hydraulic brake system introduced by Duesenberg in 1922 replaced mechanical brakes and can be considered one of the first major car safety innovations.

Let’s fast forward almost 100 years – today’s cars are equipped with a slew of safety features. While some of us have vivid memories of a time before seatbelts and airbags were required in new vehicles, those features are old news compared to what’s being rolled out in today’s models. The newest safety introductions rely heavily on advanced electronics, computerized controls, radar, and cameras. We’ve seen such an uptick in the presence of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in the past decade that  AAA recently recommended  standardized names for these systems, as manufacturers currently use different terms for features that perform the same functions.

So, how did we get here? To understand how some of these advanced safety features became standard, let’s explore the history of some of the most popular.

According to our friends at AAA, this is the most prevalent of the ADAS technologies currently offered, coming standard in about 30 percent of 2018 model-year vehicles. This is not hard to believe, as these features star in many modern car commercials: saving the distracted teen driver from a fender-bender or taking over when a truck unexpectedly pulls out in front of the mom driving her kids to soccer practice.

These safety features rely on the use of radar to either alert a driver of an impending collision or take action to autonomously brake the vehicle. Cadillac attempted a very primitive version of a collision warning system in the late 1950s, but it was ultimately scrapped due to high manufacturing costs. We didn’t see these systems again until 1995, when a group of engineers in California introduced radar-based technology that was showcased at the North American International Auto Show the following year.

However, it still took almost 20 years for this technology to become mainstream, but some early-adopters of automatic braking systems were Honda (on the Japanese-market Inspire) in 2003 with its CMBS (Collision Mitigation Brake System), and Mercedes-Benz also in 2003, with the “Pre-Safe” brake assist sensors on their S-Class model.

While we hope to never need it, this feature isn’t going anywhere. In 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced that 99 percent of all new U.S. automobiles will include emergency braking as a standard feature by 2022.

Mirrors could be considered the original blind spot monitors, having been around for more than 100 years. Originally, the first rearview mirrors in cars were inside, which provided a rather clear view out the back, but did little or nothing to help see along the sides or within adjacent lanes. Outside rearview mirrors (sometimes simply called “side mirrors”) became more in-demand as the U.S. highway system expanded in the 1950s and ‘60s. But side-view mirrors still allowed for a dangerous “blind spot,” a particular problem when changing lanes on an interstate.

This eventually led to the creation of blind spot monitoring and warning systems. More technical solutions have become common in recent years and are available in a variety of functionalities. While not an excuse to stop observing your surroundings before changing lanes, these systems rely on sonar or cameras to provide an alert when an object or another car enters a blind spot. This can be done with a warning light, noise, or vibration, depending on the vehicle. Some more advanced systems even include “cross-traffic alerts,” which provide warnings when a vehicle or person approaches from beyond a driver’s line of sight, for example, while he or she is backing up.

Blind-spot monitoring first appeared in the Volvo S80 in 2005, and a variation of it is included on many vehicles today, with some being more advanced than others. For instance, Infiniti introduced a “blind spot intervention” system that actually applies the brakes to guide your car away from switching lanes if someone is in your blind spot.

This one can be viewed as a companion feature to the forward-collision warning system, and modern cars are likely to be found with both offerings. Using the same radar or laser sensor technology in the front of the vehicle, ACC goes a step beyond traditional cruise control by controlling the throttle and brakes to maintain a set distance between your car and the one in front of it.

Some early versions of adaptive cruise control were introduced in Japan during the 1990s by Mitsubishi and relied on laser technology to assess distance and manage the vehicle’s speed through the gas pedal application, and the transmission downshifts, rather than applying the brakes. Radar-assisted systems took off in 1999 when Mercedes-Benz introduced the feature on the S-Class and CL-Class. The technology matured from there and began to integrate with collision avoidance systems as well. If you’re a fan of cruise control (and I am!), you can appreciate how ACC lets you drive on the highway and simply not touch the brake or the accelerator as traffic ebbs and flows.

Of course, you still need to remain alert, but it can add to the driver’s overall comfort.

These safety features, while not fully autonomous, are a key component of intelligent cars. In fact, a vehicle with ACC can be considered “Level 1 Autonomous,” as it provides help to the driver but isn’t capable of driving itself or assessing other road factors such as traffic lights. Today, most manufacturers have offerings in their lineup that include some variation of ACC. Some, like BMW, are even capable of coming to a full stop and then continuing motion, if you are in stop-and-go traffic, for instance.

Most drivers are familiar with backup cameras by now. They are a standard offering on many different vehicles, and are also a popular aftermarket add-on. They are made possible by the presence of a small video camera on the rear of the vehicle which is wired to transmit live footage of what’s behind the car when in reverse. The footage is either projected on an existing dashboard screen or in the rear-view mirror, giving the driver a more complete view of any possible obstructions behind their vehicle. Most are also paired with a radar proximity sensor that will issue a warning sound when the vehicle gets too close to anything.

The first time backup cameras were introduced in production vehicles was in 1991, on the Toyota Soarer Limited. These offerings were only available in Japan and were discontinued in 1997. They made a comeback in 2000 when Infiniti unveiled the RearView Monitor as an available feature on the Q45 sedan at the New York Intentional Auto Show. Infiniti also pioneered an even more comprehensive camera system in 2007 with the “Around View Monitor,” a system that provided the driver with a bird’s eye view of their vehicle using four cameras.

The market domination of SUVs with their wide D-pillars and high haunches has made backing up a visual challenge. Backup collisions in any vehicle can be particularly dangerous, so it’s not surprising the safety benefits of these cameras have led to widespread adoption by most manufacturers. Following an aggressive consumer safety campaign, NHTSA announced in 2014 a plan to require backup cameras in all automobiles sold in the U.S. built after May 2018.

The purpose of these systems, as the name suggests, is to keep a driver from veering unintentionally into another lane. They are designed for freeways and other high-capacity roads that have clear lane markings. Cameras installed on the front of the vehicle record the road in real time, and edge-detection software determines whether or not the car is within the lines.

Similar to the forward collision warning/prevention systems, different manufacturers offer varying levels of active or passive alerts. A departure warning system will issue a sound or vibration to alert the driver they might be drifting out of their lane; while an assistance system is capable of reacting and turning the vehicle back into the proper lane if the driver doesn’t take action. The latter is frequently paired with adaptive cruise control and can be considered a semi-autonomous feature.

Lane departure warning systems first debuted on commercial trucks in Europe in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, they began to appear on passenger cars in Japan, including the Nissan Cima and Toyota Caldina. These warning systems didn’t make their way to North America until 2004 when they appeared on two Infiniti models: the FX and M. Toyota quickly followed that year, adding lane-keeping assistance to its Crown Majesta.

Over the course of the next decade, these features became more mainstream. However, they haven’t been free from controversy. In 2017, the IIHS expressed concern that, by relying on these systems and other similar safety features (including forward collision warning and adaptive cruise control), drivers will become less vigilant behind the wheel.

You might say the automotive industry got its jump-start into safety with the passage of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. At first, much of the focus was on preventing injuries in the event of an accident (seat belts, padded dashes, collapsible steering columns, airbags, etc.). As these passive safety systems reached saturation, and as technology developed, carmakers, government agencies, and safety advocates redirected their focus toward active safety, that is, avoiding the accident in the first place.

The most recent decade has proven how the automotive industry is undergoing a transformation when it comes to safety technology. Based on consumer demand and widespread adoption, it’s safe to say that driver assistance systems are here to stay. As today’s youngest drivers don’t remember a time before seatbelts, will the next generation express the same sentiment when it comes to forward-collision warning systems?

Like most of the industry, I’ll be waiting to see.

Richard Reina is the Product Training Director for CARiD.com. He enjoys restoring and driving old cars with a special love for anything Italian. Richard is also passionate about music and is a huge Beatles fan.