Guide and tips
Navigation system, parking aid or heated seats: modern cars offer numerous extras that can increase comfort and safety. However, not every optional extra pays off in the long term. In our guide, you can find out which equipment features really make sense, what you should look out for when buying a car and which extras also play a role when reselling.
Since 7 July 2024, all new vehicles must be equipped with driver assistance systems in accordance with an EU regulation. This regulation, which has been in force since 6 July 2022, concerns the type approval of motor vehicles and their safety systems.
The range of extras in car brochures is becoming more and more extensive. No wonder, as more and more people are spending a lot of time in their cars and are therefore prepared to pay more for additional safety and extra comfort.
According to EU standards, some safety-relevant optional extras must now even be offered as standard, such as the ESP electronic stability programme. Other advanced electronic components are becoming cheaper and cheaper due to high production volumes and are therefore increasingly being fitted as standard by manufacturers in compact and small cars. However, many extras are still only offered for higher vehicle classes or only as a package with other extras.
Emergency Brake Assist brakes automatically in dangerous situations to prevent a collision. This is possible thanks to methods for optical distance and speed measurement such as radar and lidar (= distance measurement with light pulses) as well as camera systems and the transmission of data from the control unit.
Obstacles and moving vehicles must be recognised for this. This assistant can be deactivated manually and is automatically reactivated when the vehicle is restarted. It is planned that the emergency brake assistant will be further optimised over time so that it can ultimately also react to other road users on bicycles or on foot.
The emergency lane departure warning system warns the driver if the vehicle unintentionally leaves its lane. In contrast to the familiar lane departure warning system, the emergency lane departure warning system intervenes more aggressively as soon as an emergency situation is recognised.
For example, it steers the vehicle sharply if it is in danger of leaving the road or driving into oncoming traffic.
The emergency lane departure warning system switches off automatically if it cannot work reliably "in particular due to deficiencies in the road infrastructure", according to the regulation text. The driver then receives a message in the cockpit. Once the vehicle is started, the emergency lane departure warning system is active again.
The intelligent speed assistant issues a warning if the applicable speed is exceeded.
The speed assistant receives its guideline values by recognising traffic signs and/or using data from navigation services. The system is activated when the ignition is switched on, but can also be deactivated manually.
The emergency brake light, also known as the "adaptive brake light", indicates to other road users that the vehicle in front of them is braking with a heavy deceleration.
During "normal" braking, the brake lights illuminate as on any other car; during emergency braking, i.e. braking with a deceleration of over 6 m/s and a speed of over 50 km/h, the brake lights flash several times per second. It also switches on as long as the ABS system is regulating.
When the vehicle is stationary, the hazard warning lights switch on and the brake lights remain permanently lit.
The emergency brake light is activated via
The tyre friction is also determined.
The accident data memory is also called "event-related data recording (= black box)". It stores the data immediately before, during and after a collision.
The data collected includes, among other things
Recording and storage are anonymised for data protection reasons and can be made available to national authorities for the purpose of accident research.
This assistance system cannot be deactivated and must be installed in both semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles. The black box obligation for new cars is an important step towards improving road safety. It will help to better understand accidents, identify the causes and ultimately make the driving experience safer for everyone.
Since 2022, drowsiness detection has been mandatory in newly developed vehicles in order to prevent accidents caused by so-called microsleep.
The drowsiness warning system is already standard in many new cars. By continuously recording eye and eyelid movements and/or steering movements, the driver's driving behaviour is analysed.
If there are signs of tiredness or a loss of concentration, the driver is reminded to take a break with an acoustic and visual signal (coffee cup).
The reversing assistant is designed to make parking and reversing safer. The assistant recognises pedestrians or obstacles behind the vehicle and warns the driver when reversing.
This can prevent accidents that could happen without an anti-collision system when reversing out of a parking space with poor visibility of the road. The systems are based on sensor and/or camera information.
Tyre pressure monitoring systems have been mandatory in newly registered cars since 2014. They warn if the air pressure in the tyres deviates too much from a defined value or permanently measure the tyre pressure.
The tyre pressure monitoring system informs the driver of the current tyre pressure via a display or a warning signal. Since 2022, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses must also be equipped with this system, as must large lorry trailers.
In future, all new cars must have a standardised interface that enables an alcohol-sensitive immobiliser to be retrofitted.
A monitoring device is not part of the regulation. Existing systems already work with a breath alcohol device that only activates the ignition after a positive breath test.
TÜV NORD Mobilität is continuously working on optimising the testing of electronic driver assistance systems as part of the general inspection. We are currently developing testing technologies with which we can efficiently test all safety-relevant control units and intelligent sensors on the vehicle via an interface.
ESP = ElectronicStability Programme
If a vehicle threatens to skid, the ESP keeps the car on course by braking individual wheels in a targeted manner, thus ensuring that the driver remains in control.
Skidding is one of the main causes of serious road accidents. ESP can prevent around 80 per cent of all skidding accidents.
ASR = anti-slip control
The traction control system regulates the engine power if the wheels start to spin when there is too much throttle.
If necessary, ASR intervenes in the engine management, reduces the throttle supply and brakes the driven wheels until they have enough grip again and maximum power can be applied to the road.
ASR also enables optimum acceleration with less tyre wear.
If you only look briefly in the mirror when changing lanes, you can easily miss someone. The lane change assistant warns of vehicles in the blind spot.
It keeps an eye on the area next to and diagonally behind the vehicle at all times and helps to reduce the risk of accidents when overtaking and changing lanes.
Driving in heavy traffic and maintaining the correct safety distance from the vehicle in front requires a high level of concentration and attention from the driver.
The distance control system automatically maintains the safe distance and adapts the speed to the flow of traffic. This allows the driver to concentrate better on the current traffic situation.
Poor visibility in the dark and against the light often leads to accidents because hazards are often recognised too late.
The night vision assistant extends the range of vision of conventional headlight systems. Two infrared headlights at the front of the car illuminate the road for up to 150 metres.
An infrared camera uses the light invisible to the eye to project a high-resolution black-and-white image onto a monitor in the dashboard. This gives the driver a better overview of the traffic situation at night than with the dipped headlights alone.
An innovative combination of sensors recognises both wetness and black ice: an optical sensor detects ice and wetness based on the reflection on the road surface.
A laser scanner detects raindrops and snowflakes up to 100 metres away. Sensors on the tyres detect the risk of aquaplaning.
In addition, two thermostats measure the temperature of the road surface and the ambient temperature. All available information is then linked with the data from the ESP. A processor then calculates the grip of the tyres and the road.
The black box cannot be deactivated and must be installed in both semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles.
Safety: The black box provides a detailed record of accidents, enabling accurate reconstruction in the event of an incident.
Efficiency: By analysing vehicle data, problems can be detected and rectified at an early stage, leading to improved vehicle performance.
Transparency: You gain insight into your own driving behaviour, allowing you to optimise your driving habits to improve safety and save fuel.
Yes, it is possible to retrofit a black box to a car.
In this case, contact a specialised workshop to ensure that the Event Data Recorder is installed correctly and complies with the applicable regulations.