Explaining Safety Technology: Forward Collision Warning
Posted by Mansoor A. Bukhari on Mar 28, 2016
The most common type of accidents are rear-end accidents. They occur usually because drivers don’t keep enough distance from the vehicle in front of them. When the vehicle in front jams its brakes due to some circumstance, the driver behind doesn’t have enough space and time to brake and thus the rear-end accident happens. The importance of safe distance is being enforced by traffic authorities all over the world by holding seminars, passing out leaflets and giving fines as well.
However, not keeping safe distance is not the only reason behind rear-end accidents. Other common mistake is lack of concentration for a split second which can lead to one car ramming into the other. In order to regain concentration of the driver, the forward collision warning system has been developed. This system alerts the driver when they get too close to the vehicle in front of them and loud beeping sounds make sure the driver knows it is time to brake before the collision happens. The accuracy is up to 3 seconds before collision. This will prevent or mitigate the accident.
The forward collision warning system detects the imminent crash by analyzing the host vehicle speed, the relative speed and the relative acceleration with the car ahead. The relative speed and acceleration are measured as images or warning lights. The warning increases if the distance lowers and when there is an imminent crash then a critical warning comes to alert the driver. In some cases, this tightens the safety belt and pre-fills the brakes.
The forward collision warning system takes into account the three scenarios where collisions can happen. Firstly, it is when the object in front is stationary – here the constant speed and the decreasing distance is calculated and warning is given up to 3 seconds before impact. Secondly, when vehicle in front is braking – here the front vehicles brake lights are detected and the warning is given up to 7 seconds before impact. Finally, when the brakes are already being pressed – here the warning can be delayed as the driver is pressing the brakes. You can watch FCW in action below.
Editor's Picks: