New technology is being incorporated into the latest generation of Ford cars in order to make us all that little bit safer on the road.
Ford’s new Driver Alert safety technology gives motorists the ultimate wake-up call to keep him or her on the road.
First a soft warning will pop up in the instrument cluster as a text message and will stay there for 10 seconds with an accompanying chime. If the driver continues to demonstrate drowsy behaviour, a hard warning will appear in the instrument cluster which the driver must acknowledge by pressing an OK button.
“If the driver fails to acknowledge the hard warning, the system can only be reset by stopping the car and opening the driver’s door,” Nieh said. “The system then recognises that perhaps you have changed drivers or that you have had a rest and can continue.”
An onboard camera identifies lane markings and predicts where vehicle should be relative to them, whilst the Driver Alert recognises erratic driving and issues initial soft audible and visual warnings that intensify if the driver doesn’t react.
This latest feature is one of seven technologies available as part of the Driver Assistance Pack on all-new Focus for £750. If you do a lot of driving (statistically likely to increase your risk of a crash anyway) then I’d certainly recommend it. A safer car is a better car.
These are what make a company such as Ford one of the most successful businesses in the world: their continuous passion for improvement, innovation, and customer safety and satisfaction. A lot of accidents we hear in the news are caused by drivers who unintentionally fall asleep while they are behind the wheel. Being sleepy is a manifestation of the body’s need for rest. If you are deprived of sleep, avoid driving. Even if this car keeps on reminding you to stay awake, if your mind is not in the right state, chances are you will still fail at keeping focused on the road.