Feature Spotlight: Cadillac’s Driver Assist Technology Makes Driving Safer, Easier

Part of the experience of driving a luxury vehicle such as a Cadillac isn’t only the high style and refined driving dynamics of the vehicle on an open road, but also elements that make it easier and safer to drive the vehicle — whether pulling out of the driveway, crowded parking structure, or a congested freeway.

One of the elements that really helps improve the safe driving experience of today’s Cadillacs is the available Driver Assist and Awareness technologies, that utilize cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors and automatic braking to help make common traffic situations safer. These technologies work in tandem to enhance the driver’s awareness of potential road hazards by utilizing visual and either audible or haptic alerts through the Safety Alert Seat. The features consist of:

• Full Speed Adaptive Cruise Control extends traditional cruise control to more situations, such as managing the car’s acceleration and braking automatically from a driver-set highway “cruising” speed down to a full stop, such as at a toll booth, while maintaining a safe following distance.
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert scans areas adjacent to the car on each side extends driver vision such as when backing out of a parking spot with vehicles on both sides.
• Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat warns the driver of traffic approaching from the left or right using directional seat vibration pulses. This patented warning approach is tied to all of the on-board crash avoidance systems.
• Rear Vision Camera with Dynamic Guidelines allows the driver, when in reverse, to view objects directly behind the vehicle via the eight-inch monitor on the center stack. A set of red and yellow guidelines appear on the display to mark the vehicle’s turn radius, allowing for easier parking and backing maneuvers.
• Automatic Front and Rear Braking will apply emergency braking automatically in certain driveway, parking lot and heavy traffic conditions if it detects a vehicle in front of or behind the car.
• Forward Collision Alert uses the Safety Alert Seat’s haptic warning to vibrate both sides of the driver’s seat when the car approaches a stationary or moving vehicle ahead too rapidly.
• Side Blind Zone Alert uses radar technology to alert drivers to other vehicles in their vehicle’s blind spots when making lane changes.
• Lane Departure Warning uses camera technology to alert drivers when making unintended lane changes.

The Driver Assist and Driver Awareness packages are available on the ATS, XTS, and SRX, and are priced as follows.

ATS

Driver Awareness Package costs $845 on Turbo Luxury RWD trim level and up. It includes:

• Safety Alert Seat
• Forward Collision Alert
• Lane Departure Warning
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Rear thorax air bags for outboard passengers
• Direct view notification display

XTS

Driver Awareness Package costs $890 on Luxury trim level and up. It includes:

• Lane Departure Warning
• Side Blind Zone Alert
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert
• Forward Collision Alert

SRX

Driver Awareness Package costs $445 on Luxury trim level and up. It includes:

• Lane Departure Warning
• Forward Collision Alert
• Safety Alert Seat

The Driver Assist Package is also offered on the SRX. It costs $2,395 and requires the Driver Awareness Package:

• Automatic Collision Preparation
• Front and Rear Automatic Braking
• Full-speed range Adaptive Cruise Control

Courtesy of GM Authority