New Car Awards 2014: Safety Award

Few manufacturers are taking safety as seriously as Nissan. In the past year, the brand’s rolled out its clever Safety Shield tech on a huge range of cars, from the compact Note to the Qashqai crossover.

Unlike many rivals that try to minimise injuries to occupants during a crash, Nissan’s kit attempts to prevent the collision in the first place. As a result, the package features a suite of systems that aims to keep the driver safe and on track.

As well as the usual blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning, there’s low-speed collision avoidance. Added to this is a surround view camera option that takes the stress out of parking, plus a moving object detector that alerts you if cars or pedestrians stray into your path as you reverse. Other kit includes road sign recognition cameras, high beam assist and driver drowsiness monitors.

Yet there’s more to Safety Shield than the tech currently available on Nissan cars. Engineers are feverishly working on the next-generation features that could help eradicate smashes, from intelligent 360-degree monitors to autonomous driving. The brand aims to have a driverless car on sale by 2020.

In the meantime, you can buy a Nissan knowing the hi-tech systems under the skin are constantly working to keep you safe on the road. Peace of mind doesn’t come any greater than that.