One automaker may have found the answer to making California highways safer: Take control of a motor vehicle away from the driver. Volvo has predicted that auto accident fatalities in its vehicles can be eliminated by 2020 through the incorporationof autonomous technologies that will compensate for a distracted driver in order to avoid a car collision.

Some of the technology is already available in some cars, so Volvo's plan to combine the technologies into a single vehicle is closer to reality than it is to a pipe dream. For example, a driver who is texting and driving could be saved from colliding into the rear of another vehicle by a cruise control system that automatically reduces a car's speed when it gets too close to another vehicle. Cruise control can be combined with other technologies that would apply the brakes to avoid a car collision in the event the distracted driver does not do so.

Driverless vehicles currently being tested by several companies use cameras connected to an onboard computer to control them when they come upon a pedestrian, animal or object that could cause an accident. Such a system could be used to turn control of the car over to the computer if the driver does not react. Vehicles that take over from an incapacitated driver might help avoid a drunk driving accident when the motorist has had too much to drink.

While companies work to make driving safer, car accidents continue to cause serious injuries. An auto accident victim might be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages when an accident is caused by a negligent driver. Discussing the circumstances of a car collision with a personal injury attorney might help a victim have a better understanding of the process for pursuing a claim.