Toyota vows to make driving safer with next-gen safety technology

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When buying a new car, it makes sense that buyers spend a comprehensive amount of time making sure how safe it is. While the fact remains that automakers are busy introducing new models every fortnight, it should be noted that many global brands are also rapidly blending performance and creature comforts with revolutionary safety technologies which are worth vouching for. And while currently, Volvo, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are leading the particular space, Japanese automaker Toyota has just laid its cards on the table.

Toyota, in fact, has revealed some of the smart new technologies and systems it will be featuring in future models to make driving safer. According to the brand, these safety systems have been designed from the start to work together to help cut the number of road accidents.

The new features including active safety packages, LED array adaptive high beam and vehicle-infrastructure and vehicle-vehicle communications will be rolled out in new models from 2015.

First up is what Toyota calls vehicle-infrastructure and vehicle-vehicle communications. This system uses a wireless frequency reserved for ITS – Integrated Traffic System – services, to eliminate the risk of potential hazards on the road. For instance, when you arrive at a junction with no clear view, sensors above the road will detect on-coming traffic or pedestrians crossing the road and send the information to the car. 

Toyota has also developed a new radar guided cruise control that uses vehicle-to-vehicle communication to make it easier for preceding and following vehicles to keep a safe distance.  It uses a forward-facing millimetre-wave radar to monitor the distance between your vehicle and the one ahead, their relative speed and the acceleration/deceleration of the car in front.

Secondly, there’s the LED array adaptive high beam system which uses multiple, independently controlled LEDs arranged in a single row. This gives a wider illumination without obstructing the vision of oncoming motorists.  It can light up the gaps between vehicles ahead and those approaching, making it easier to spot pedestrians.

Lastly, Toyota will launch a new set of active safety technologies to help prevent or mitigate collisions across a wide range of vehicle speeds. Bring together several of the brand’s existing active safety technologies, including the Pre-Crash Safety system, Lane Keep Assist and automatic high beam, the packages will be offered initially in Japan and subsequently in the USA and Europe, by the end of 2017.