4 November 2016

Safer parking, accident avoidance measures coming from Ford

Ford is planning to have systems in its cars within two years which will help eliminate one of the most nerve-wracking manoeuvres for drivers — reversing 'blind' out of a parking space, writes Brian Byrne.

Being developed at the company's European Research & Innovation centre in Aachen, Germany, that particular system is designed to detect approaching unseen vehicles and people and automatically brake the car.

It's just one of a suite of technologies devised to make parking easier and safer, steer safely around emergencies at highway speeds, detecting cyclists ahead, and preventing wrong-way motorway driving.

Parking incidents are responsible for one in four accidents in the UK, and parking is the manoeuvre which a majority of motorists says causes them the most stress.

An in development Evasive Steering Assist uses radar and a camera to detect slower moving and stationary vehicles ahead and provides steering support to enable drivers to avoid a vehicle if a collision is imminent.

A related use will detect and identify cyclists in the road ahead and can automatically apply the brakes if a collision is imminent and the driver does not respond to warnings, helping reduce the severity of accidents or avoid them altogether.