Toyota has made driving safer a priority and is working to make sure you have the most complete package of safety features.

One of the aspects of driving that seems to be the most difficult for us is parking. For some reason, it seems troubling to try and park some vehicles in the parking lot or near a place where you want to shop. It can also be hard to park in your own garage and even sometimes difficult to remember whether or not you have turned your vehicle off when you stop and get ready to leave the vehicle to go in the store or in your home. While it seems both parking and shutting off our vehicles should be easy, the fact is that we have trouble with these tasks.

What’s Causing the Trouble?

The parking problem has been something we’ve faced for many generations. There are more small accidents “fender benders” in parking lots than anywhere else. There’s a lot to think about when moving around in a parking lot and often we’re thinking more about what we need to do next. When we do part, we’re often more concerned with getting out of the vehicle, going in the store or in the house, and responding to messages on our smartphones. The use of keyless driving has made it so that we forget to turn off our vehicles at times.

The Toyota Solution

Toyota has come up with a solution to both of these issues. These items are called automatic engine shutoff and automatic park. These features are being added to cars equipped with the Smart Key System which is a keyless entry and push-button ignition system. The automatic engine shutoff does what it’s supposed to and shuts off the engine after a pre-determined period of time when the vehicle is left running and it’s in Park. These models already sound a chime and offer a visual warning about the running engine which will aid these two new systems as well.

Automatic Park Works Differently

The Automatic Park feature offered by Toyota will not park your car for you, but it will help you avoid a fender bender in a parking lot. You can stop the vehicle and get out to head into a store or meeting in a hurry and you might forget to put the vehicle in park. This system automatically engages the park mode when you have exited the vehicle and forget to do this yourself. This feature will help with safety and make it possible for you to avoid a collision.

This is the Right Solution

The only other solution to the problems of forgetting to put a vehicle in park or turning off the engine is to move backward and get rid of our smartphones. Of course, this wouldn’t cause you to be without distractions or a lot on your mind, and you might be forgetful anyway. The right solution is what Toyota is offering in the Automatic Engine Shutoff and Automatic Park which will help you when you’ve forgotten to put the vehicle in park or forgotten to shut it off when you’re done driving.