04 August 2011 - The Japanese automaker has announced a quartet of future vehicle safety systems, currently under development, which it is looking at introducing into its vehicles. Aimed at protecting older drivers and pedestrians, their development is in response to Japanese road accident statistics that show that more than half of road traffic deaths are of people aged 65 and over, and that pedestrians now account for more fatalities than vehicle occupants.
One highlight of the company’s future safety systems is the PCS (Pre-Crash Safety) system with collision avoidance assist that we brought to your attention about a week ago. Also included on the list is an improved automatic high beam function with an Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB). This partially shields the high beam light so that it doesn’t shine directly in the face of drivers in vehicles ahead. This means it can prevent glare while maintaining near-high beam illumination of the road, reducing the risk of accidents.
In addition, Toyota has developed a new pop-up bonnet that can reduce the risk of head injury in a collision with pedestrian. It automatically raises the rear of the bonnet to increase the space between it and the engine, which means it can be effective even on vehicles where the bonnet is set low, with limited clearance underneath.
Finally, the automaker aims to bring to the market a system that can monitor cardio-vascular functions through the driver’s grip on the steering wheel and detect risks.
Sources: Autorevolution
