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How does Nissan Intelligent Mobility make driving safer?

Let's find out how effective the Nissan Intelligent Mobility is when applied here.

Autodeal on Aug 03, 2018

If there's a driver who says he/she is impressed by the Metro Manila traffic situation, we have our hands down to that person. As some drivers might say to you, Metro Manila is one of the dens of the toughest drivers in Luzon, if not, in the Philippines. Here is where hundreds of thousands of accidents happen annually.

In a data collected by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), extracted from a report by Nissan Philippines, there had been 110,025 road crashes in the capital region alone. Unfortunately, this just keeps getting worse and worse each year and we all need to have a solution. Luckily, Nissan PH has introduced the Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM) Suite on its vehicles – and, darn, we're impressed with it.

So, how is the NIM going to help us with the worsening traffic condition in the Philippines? Let's analyze the technology and hopefully apply it to Metro Manila's major roads.

It keeps you from bumping other cars.

Among the causes of road accidents, human error is one of the leading suspects. Driving, especially through heavy traffic, is stressful. Once it has gotten inside your nerves, you may lose certain ability like focusing, reflexes, and even patience. Failure on these three may then result to different catastrophes so, as we keep on saying, defensive driving must always be observed.

Good thing part of the NIM is the Intelligent Forward Collision Warning. This safety feature alerts you to slowdown even before you see what's causing other vehicles to stop. It has a range of two cars that are in front of you, which it monitors as you drive along the highway. Apart from this, there is also what Nissan calls the Distance Control, which monitors the traffic flow and maintains a safe driving distance.

It keeps you in your lane.

Let us tell you a personal experience and a true story. Our scariest UV Express experience was along the Skyway when the driver experienced a mild stroke. The van wiggled and swerved to a point that we almost hit the guard rails and dropped 400 feet to the ground. The passengers had to intervene to put the van to a halt but imagine being inches away from death.

Skyway, when it isn't crowded, hosts cars with speeds of 90 km/h to 120 km/h. Although there's a 100 km/h speed limit, there are drivers who go way beyond. With speeds like these, a slight lane change could result to fatal side sweep accidents as room for reaction is little. Thankfully, the NIM has the Intelligent Lane Intervention, which keeps you safely positioned on your lane despite accidental or careless steering.

Another experience we've had is along the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), where we almost got pit maneuvered by a bus. The bus driver turned his turning signal lights the same time he decided to steer to our lane. It was a very close call and it all happened in a snap. Luckily, we managed to get out of the situation unharmed.

To avoid such incidents, Nissan innovated the Intelligent Blind Spot Intervention. This very useful feature has the capability to spot surrounding vehicles that are in your blind spots. It gives a nudge or slight resistance when it senses you steering to another lane unsafely.

Allows you to park at ease.

A number of the accidents that happen every day take place in parking lots. Parking a vehicle requires skills and attentiveness. When your vehicle has huge C- or B-pillars, chances are you'd find it hard to park – especially if you've just started driving. We've seen a driver scrape a parking pole at an LTO driving facility and trust us it was a painful sight for her vehicle.

To make parking easier, Nissan included an Intelligent Back-Up Intervention, which actually takes over important tasks during parking that you might miss doing. It automatically monitors your rear and intervene with braking once it senses things beyond your vision. This is perfect for dark basement parking lots at malls and commercial buildings around the metro.

In the future...

With the goal to make roads safe, Nissan promises better features in the near future. Included in the development phase are features that make your car drive by itself. Soon, your Nissan car will have the ability to pick you up remotely, navigate on heavy traffic so you don't have to, find free parking spaces and park itself, and even connect with other cars on the road. In addition, future Nissans may learn and adapt from its surroundings – talk about artificial intelligent (AI) technology.

These are your best bet if you value your safety. With the said features, we can hope for less traffic accidents in the future years. This, especially to major roads that are known for the amount of accidents taking place on them each year. The NIM is available in the Nissan Terra midsize SUV, as well as in the Navara and the X-Trail.