10 best car safety tech features you may not even know you have

Safety first, right?

With all these new high-tech safety options here are some features you should really know about.

1) Forward Collision Warning

Gives you an alert if something's in the road ahead from stopped vehicles to pedestrians, cyclists, and animals.

2) Automatic Emergency Braking

Can activate the brakes if you ignore the forward collision alerts. It's been shown to prevent or lessen the impact of crashes. Drivers in an emergency often fail to fully activate the brakes.

3) Brake Assist

Detects when you're panic braking and applies the brakes completely in milliseconds automatically.

4) Blind Spot Warning

Alerts the driver usually with a solid or flashing light in the side mirror when a car is in your blind spot. The sensors may also tell cars equipped with active steering systems to steer you back into your lane to avoid a collision.

5) The Lane Departure Warning System

Alerts you either with visuals, audio, or sometimes even vibration in the wheel, or your seat if you start to drift out of your lane or leave the road entirely.

6) Lane-Keeping Assist

Even stronger than the lane departure warning and actually steers you back into your lane on its own.

7) Driver Inattention Monitor

Makes sure you're not falling asleep or getting too distracted. The car will give you a warning, sometimes in the dashboard display, with steering wheel motion, or even track your eye movement to encourage you to take a break.

8) Automatic Crash Notification

Calls 911 if your airbags deploy using your Smartphone or branded system like GM's OnStar. It might also come with a remote lock or unlock feature also called emergency telematic systems. These can be lifesavers.

9) Automatic High Beams

Sense traffic ahead of you on a dark road and turns your brights on and off automatically.

10) Airbags in the Steering Wheel, Front Dash, and Front Side Doors

Now federally mandated. Before you overload on airbags though, check crash test stats to see what makes sense.

Now that you understand how these common safety features work, you're ready to find the right car to keep you and your family safe.