DETROIT (AP) – Every day across America, cars rear-end the vehicle in front. Drowsy drivers drift into the wrong lane. Motorists are tossed from an open window in a rollover.

Most motorists on the road are protected by safety belts, air bags, and brakes. But new safety innovations on display at the North American International Auto Show – radar systems, cameras, top-notch software and improved designs – will soon become more widespread.

“Safety is a competitive issue,” said Fred Webber, president and chief executive of The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “And when it becomes a competitive issue in the automobile industry, that means the companies are going to do bigger and better things.”

More than 42,000 people die annually on the nation’s highways, a number pushing automakers, safety advocates and others to make driving safer. While wearing a seat belt remains the best way to survive a crash, the technology could add more tools to make vehicles safer.

Some of the advances deal with what automakers call “active safety,” which involves technology used to keep drivers out of danger and help them anticipate problems. The upgrades are mostly limited to expensive luxury models for now but could offer a glimpse of the future, much the same way that airbags evolved in the marketplace.

“It’s like having two brains in the vehicle,” said Dean McConnell, Continental Automotive System’s director of occupant safety and driver assistance systems.

Continental has worked with several automakers on “intelligent” systems that use radars to assess the potential danger of a crash, allowing a car to detect how quickly it’s coming up on the vehicle in front of it and adjust its speed to avoid rear-ending it.

In the event of a potential crash, a signal or beep might warn a motorist, tighten the seat belt to put the person in a safer position, ready the brakes and instantly close the sunroof or windows to prevent someone from being thrown from the vehicle.

The technology is only an aid to drivers and doesn’t take away a motorist’s control of the vehicle, the company said during a recent demonstration at its Auburn Hills, Mich., facility.

Much of the technology builds upon antilock brakes and electronic stability control, an anti-rollover system in which brakes are automatically applied when they feel the vehicle skidding off course.

Government studies found stability control reduced single-vehicle sport utility crashes by 67 percent and one-car crashes by 35 percent compared to the same models sold in previous years without the technology.

Mercedes-Benz has implemented many of the advanced features in its S-Class models, which start at more than $65,000. New versions available in the coming months offer a night-vision system that will detect any object 500 feet ahead and help drivers sense the speed of vehicles surrounding it.

Previous models have had adaptive cruise control, allowing a driver to maintain a safe distance behind a car in front of it and adjust its speed accordingly. New models will have the feature even at speeds below 25 miles per hour.

Some of the top safety features are available on the Acura RL in a $3,800 option that also includes tires that won’t deflate if they’re punctured.

Nissan Motor Co. has a lane departure warning system, first introduced on Infiniti vehicles, that addresses the high number of fatalities when cars drift off the road or into other lanes. The automaker is expected to implement a brake-assist system in future models.

Robert Yakushi, Nissan North America Inc.’s director of product safety, regulatory and accessory quality, said the upgrades represented “a shift from just focusing all on crash protection to going towards preventing a crash.”

Honda Motor Co. last fall introduced plans to bring a number of new safety features on upcoming vehicles, including technology that allows communications between vehicles to avoid collisions and keeps vehicles from drifting out of their lanes.

The Japanese automaker also strengthened its cars’ frames, which will help protect passengers in collisions with large SUVs. All Honda models will have the frame by 2010.

General Motors Corp., the world’s No. 1 automaker, plans to make electronic stability control standard on all of its light-duty trucks by 2010.

For GM vehicles involved in a crash, electronic door locks unlock to give easy access to emergency officials and the blower motor of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system shuts off to prevent the potential for a fire.

The automaker also offers its OnStar in-vehicle communication system, which alerts emergency rescuers when an air bag deploys or the vehicle gets into a crash.

Bob Lange, GM’s top safety official, said questions about cost still remain an issue. The industry will be challenged to engineer systems with many sensors and processing units into a format that can be used on many vehicles.

“It’s one thing to do it on a Cadillac or a Lexus, it’s quite something else to do it on a Cobalt” or other economy cars like the new Toyota Yaris, Lange said.

More advances are on the way. Ford Motor Co. showcased a small concept car called the Reflex that has an experimental inflatable seat belt in the back seat. A small tube-like air bag deploys inside the shoulder belt in a crash, adding protection to the chest.

—

On the Net:

North American International Auto Show, http://www.naias.com/