Ford has developed technology for emergency services vehicles that sends a signal from the ambulance, fire engine or police car directly to nearby drivers so that they will know exactly where the siren is coming from, and how far away it is.
In the UK alone, in 2015, there were 475 road accidents involving emergency services vehicles. It is thought the technology – which provides to the driver audible and visual alerts in the instrument cluster – could one day even advise drivers on the best course of action to safely get out of the way.
“Time is precious for emergency services and this technology could help to shave valuable seconds off their journeys by enabling drivers to avoid being an obstruction,” said Christian Ress, supervisor, automated driving Europe, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.
Ford is also trialling technology that can alert drivers to potential accidents when they are approaching a crossroads. With intersection collision warning, the car broadcasts its location to nearby vehicles which – if equipped with the same technology – then calculate the risk of a crash.
If the risk is high then a warning tells both drivers to slow down or stop. For example, it could alert drivers when a car approaching from another direction has ignored a red traffic light.
June 30, 2017
