West Herr New York technology specialist Andy Parks explains adaptive cruise control on a recent blog post on the West Herr website.
Adaptive cruise control is becoming more common on new vehicles and is already standard in the Toyota Safety Sense system, the posting said.
Adaptive cruise control, like regular cruise control, allows drivers to set the speed at which they'd like the vehicle to travel.
The adaptive part takes into account the vehicles ahead of yours as you drive, the posting said. For instance, if you're traveling 50 mph and the car ahead of yours is traveling at 40 mph, adaptive cruise control will match the other vehicle's speed, then resume your 50 mph choice once the other vehicle is no longer in front of yours, the posting said.
Since adaptive cruise control relies on a camera in the front of your vehicle, it could become inoperative during heavy rain, snow or even fog. Even if your car window is dirty in the area used by the camera, adaptive cruise control may not function properly, the post said.
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