Several Ford vehicles come equipped with pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection (PCA), a technology that aims to reduce the severity of frontal collisions, and help the driver avoid them. Applicable for use across a range of speeds, PCA scans roads and pavements ahead for vehicles and people. When it detects a possible collision scenario, it sends a warning to the driver. If the driver does not react, it escalates its responses from pre-charging braking, to limited braking, to finally full auto braking. Drivers can easily intervene and override the system by using steering, braking or throttle inputs.
Data has shown that simply slowing down a vehicle before impact is enough to drastically change the outcome of an accident. According to WHO, pedestrians have almost no chance of survival if struck by a car traveling at 80km/h, but if it slows down to 45km/h, the pedestrian’s chance increases to 50 per cent. This jumps to 90 per cent if collision occurs when the vehicle successfully decelerates to 30km/h.
Pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking is available on current model Expedition, F-150 and Mustang. It also forms part of the 2019 Edge Co-Pilot 360 suite of driver assist technologies.
Jamie Rae, marketing director, Ford Middle East, said: “Being caught unaware can lead to dire consequences, so having a system like our pre-collision assist, designed specifically to warn you of a problem, perhaps even before you’re aware of it, is very important. It might make all the difference.”