TYSONS, Va. – The high-tech safety features available in today’s new cars and light trucks – if understood and used correctly – could dramatically reduce human error, which is responsible for 94% of all traffic accidents, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

That’s why the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has created the new Driven publication, A Dealer Guide to High-Tech Vehicle Safety, which will assist dealership sales consultants and product specialists in explaining to their customers and potential customers how to properly use Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to improve traffic safety.

“New vehicles that dealerships sell today are likely to include ADAS or offer ADAS as options, but prospective buyers often know little about these features or understand how they work,” said NADA Chairman Charlie Gilchrist, a multi-franchise dealer in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. “It’s important that dealership staff become informed on the ADAS available in the vehicles they sell, so that they can teach car shoppers how to use these features correctly.”

NADA’s guide is based on the educational campaign, My Car Does What?, which was developed by the National Safety Council and the University of Iowa. The campaign website includes numerous multimedia resources on new vehicle safety technologies.

The guide also includes informative sections on several ADAS technologies, including Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Blind-Spot Monitor, Adaptive Headlights, Adaptive Cruise Control, Pedestrian Detection and Drowsiness Alert.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that just four ADAS technologies, when deployed in all passenger vehicles, could prevent or mitigate as many as 1.86 million crashes and save more than 10,000 lives per year.

NADA members can download the new guide here. (Log in and password are required.)