Rear end accidents caused by sudden heavy braking could be substantially reduced in the near future thanks to a new safety system under development by Ford.
The system is called Electronic Brake Light, and it transmits an electronic signal to following drivers to warn them of slowing traffic that could be several hundred yards away - or even round the next bend.
This technology is just one of 20 innovations currently in development by Safe Intelligent Mobility - Testfield Germany (simTD). The four-year project announced its final findings last week after logging substantial testing mileage on both the public road and enclosed test tracks. The testing, which finished in December 2012, saw 500 drivers get behind the wheel of 120 vehicles to drive for more than 41,000 hours on about 1.5 million kilometres of road in and around the Frankfurt region.
To assist with this testing, Ford contributed 20 S-Max models for various systems to be developed on. As well as the Electronic Brake Light, simTD used the S-Max to test an Obstacle Warning System, which identifies and details potentially dangerous objects in the road, along with Traffic Sign Assistant, which links to traffic management systems to keep up to speed with road signs as they change.
Other innovations under development at present include In-car Internet Access that can, for example, link to traffic cameras to give details of traffic jams or available parking; and Public Traffic Management that can accurately predict traffic issues en route, as opposed to when initially departing.
"Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications represent one of the next major advancements in vehicle safety," said Paul Mascarenas, Ford's Chief Technical Officer and Vice President, Ford Research and Innovation. "Ford is committed to further testing with the goal of implementation in the foreseeable future."
Anything else?
As well as simTD, Ford is involved with DRIVE C2X in Europe and Safety Pilot Model Deployment in the US - for which 2,800 vehicles have been selected to participate in.