Conquer Winter with Buick

by Heritage Chevrolet Buick Owings Mills

Winter weather poses additional risks to drivers. Reduced visibility and traction can create dangerous conditions. If you live somewhere that experiences ice, snow, and freezing rain, the risks are even greater. It’s important to practice additional safety, keep up with your vehicle’s maintenance, and stay alert all year long, but even more so during the winter. However, Buick and GMC offer an entire suite of driver assistance features, collision-resistant vehicle construction, and technologies that increase traction in adverse conditions. The Heritage Chevrolet Buick Owings Mills team is here to break down some of the best safety features from Buick and GMC to protect you and your family when the roads get slippery this winter.

Premium Traction Technology

Slippery winter road conditions require extra care while driving, but Buick and GMC models feature intelligent technology features to make it easier to navigate situations with reduced traction. Buick and GMC’s intelligent All-Wheel Drive is available on many models, including the GMC Terrain and Buick Enclave. This advanced system can send power to the wheels with the most traction. Standard features like 4-wheel ABS, electronic brake distribution, brake assist, and hill start assist all offer support without being invasive. The tire pressure monitoring system will alert you if one of your tires has low pressure, which can affect braking, handling, and traction. The available Traction Select System utilizes the sensors and systems already equipped in the vehicle to reduce understeer or oversteer, both of which can result in an accident. All of these features are so responsive that drivers don’t even notice how much they contribute to the smooth handling and drive of Buick and GMC models.

Active Safety Features

For 2021, the available Buick and GMC Driver Assistance Features and Packages improve upon previous generations, including safety features designed to prevent avoidable accidents, as well as react to the unavoidable ones. Thanks to industry-leading autonomous driving technology, radar, and cameras, it's never been safer to drive a new Buick or GMC model.

Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning – By monitoring the markings, curbs, and road edges using the forward-facing camera, Lane Keep Assist can notify you when you deviate from your lane. It can even make steering adjustments when needed.
Forward Collision Alert – Using a distance-measuring laser, your vehicle can detect potential obstacles ahead and alert you to avoid a collision (see video above).
Front Pedestrian Braking – Similar to the Forward Collision Alert above, this feature can detect pedestrians in your path and even apply the brakes automatically.
Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert – Using radar sensors mounted on the rear of the vehicle, this feature can detect cars in your blind spot. When a vehicle is detected there by the system, it will notify the driver (pictured below).

Adaptive Cruise Control – Cruise into the 21st Century. This feature uses frontal radar and cameras to detect the traffic ahead and maintain distance as well as speed. In heavy congestion, the vehicle can automatically stop and move forward with creeping traffic.
Active Hood – On some models, the hood can respond to a frontal pedestrian impact by automatically raising the hood to stop the pedestrian from hitting the windshield, reducing the chance of serious injury (pictured below).

Passive Safety Features

In addition to the driver assistance features available on many models, passive safety features are quietly working behind the scenes and keeping you and your passengers safe. Robust frames and seatbelts that work in concert with other advanced safety technology are just the beginning. Buick and GMC have also added systems that enhance braking and handling performance for safety. These features inspire driving confidence that can help you tackle a variety of road conditions.

StabiliTrak Adaptive Ride Control – In instances of strong oversteer or understeer while cornering, your Buick or GMC vehicle automatically works to regain and maintain predictability.
Traction Control – This system keeps your drive wheels planted in the event of excessive throttle input on surfaces like ice, mud, and wet roads.
Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) – ABS keeps your wheels from locking up when brakes are applied heavily, making sure your vehicle comes to a stop when you need it to.
Forward Automatic Braking – This feature can automatically step in to help drivers stop in time to avoid a collision by adding additional brake force.
OnStar® Connected Services – In the event of an accident, this feature can automatically notify emergency services to bring roadside assistance (pictured below).

Prevention and Protection

Both Buick and GMC have always been dedicated to protecting their customers, and thanks to some amazing advancements in safety technology, your modern model isn’t just built for an incredible driving experience. It’s also built to protect you, your family, other motorists, and pedestrians in revolutionary ways. For more information about these automakers' innovations in safety technology or to see these features in action for yourself, contact the team at Heritage Chevrolet Buick Owings Mills today or visit our showroom at 11234 Reisterstown Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117.

* Safety or driver assistance features are no substitute for the driver's responsibility to operate the vehicle in a safe manner. The driver should remain attentive to traffic, surroundings and road conditions at all times. Visibility, weather, and road conditions may affect feature performance. Read the vehicle's owner's manual for more important feature limitations and information.

Image and Video Credit: Buick and GMC