Car technology that has gone mass market after debuting in high-end models is making a big difference in accidents and fatalities, according to new data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

• Forward collision systems (FCS) - Say you're on the road and you glance away for a moment to read a text message. You don't realize that traffic has slowed in front of you. An FCS uses radar to know that the gap is closing on the vehicle in front of you and automatically take control of the car to reduce the severity of impact. In cars that have FCS, accident rates are down about 15% across all kinds of accidents, not just rear end collisions.
• Adaptive headlights - With this technology, your headlights turn as you turn your steering wheel, helping you to see around a dark curve at night. Having headlights rotate first before you get there has caused a 10% drop in overall accidents.
• Lane departure warning systems - Data shows this system hasn't proven as valuable as I thought it would when it was first introduced. Perhaps that's because the low tech answer to a lane departure warning is rumble strips on the side of the road.