Ford has provided its all-new Ford B-MAX with the innovative Active City Stop, a system that aims to avoid frontal collisions between stationary and slower moving vehicles.
Despite the fact that vehicle accidents are generally linked to high speeds, statistics show that a great number of road incidents actually occur when vehicles are moving at relatively low speeds.
According to Ford, every year there are over 500,000 crashes in cities in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Although these accidents don't tend to cause too many injuries (only one in eight people are injured in rear-end shunts), safety technology such as the innovative Active City Stop hopes to improve these current figures.
B-MAX is the first Ford vehicle to feature this innovative product. Roland Schaefer, safety analyst at Ford of Europe, commented on the new system and stressed that low speed front-to-rear collisions are one of the most common accidents in urban traffic.
"They can happen at traffic lights, intersections, roundabouts and other stop-start driving situations. You don't have to be travelling fast to get injured. Even at speeds of just 10mph you can suffer soft tissue neck injury," he explained.
Active City Stop aims to reduce the severity of those crashes or avoid them altogether. The system detects that a collision may be about to happen thanks to its sensor, which monitors traffic ahead and applies the brakes to avoid a crash.
"The perfect vehicle for 21st century city driving"
Regarding the B-MAX, Ford Vehicle Line Director, Joerg Beyer, stated that it is the perfect vehicle for 21st century city driving.
"Features such as Active City Stop are new to this sector. These technologies, coupled with B-MAX's compact chassis, and tight turning circle supported by carefully tuned electronic power-assisted steering, enable B-MAX to be far greater prepared for the demands of even the most congested city."
The Ford B-MAX also includes Ford's Hill Launch Assist, which prevents vehicles from rolling back during hill starts or when parking on a slope.
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