Advanced safety features are available on U.S. vehicles—for a price. Many so-called advanced features like adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning are considered options on new cars and trucks. The U.S. government, however, believes these features should be standard to help save more lives.

 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently released a statement recommending all new advanced safety feature technologies be required on all passenger vehicles and commercial trucks. The result, according to the NTSB, will be fewer accidents and fewer traffic-related deaths.

 

Additional features included on the NTSB’s list are forward collision warning, automatic braking, and electronic stability control.

 

The forward collision warning could prevent 879 fatal passenger car crashes and 115 fatal large truck crashes each year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The IIHS also claims electronic stability control systems can prevent 439 fatal accidents yearly, while lane departure warnings can prevent 247 fatal accidents each year.