As we reported last month, the Ford Kuga recently earned top honors in Euro NCAP’s first-ever Assisted Driving grading, thanks to the latest suite of Ford Co-Pilot360 technologies. One of the key features that helped the Kuga achieve that distinction is its new Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist, which is designed to help drivers avoid blind spot collisions while traveling on multi-lane roads.
Ford’s Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist makes its global debut on the all-new Kuga SUV. The technology monitors the driver’s blind spot for vehicles approaching from behind and can apply counter-steering to warn the driver and discourage a lane change maneuver if a potential collision is detected.
Ford has offered Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) technology for over a decade now, which is capable of alerting drivers to the presence of vehicles in their blind spot using a warning light in the door mirror. However, Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist goes a step further. It’s able to apply a gentle force to the steering wheel to discourage drivers from changing lanes into the path of another vehicle and guide the vehicle away from danger.
Kuga’s radar sensors scan parallel lanes for vehicles up to 28 meters, or 92 feet behind, 20 times per second, while driving at speeds from 65 km/h (40 mph) to 200 km/h (124 mph). An intervention can be automatically activated if the control system senses a lane-change by monitoring road markings using the forward-facing camera, and the technology calculates that the two vehicles are on a collision course.
Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist can intervene to help prevent collisions with vehicles approaching with a closing speed of up to approximately 30 km/h (18 mph).
Also making its global debut on the new Ford Kuga, Intersection Assist technology uses the vehicle’s forward-facing camera, combined with radar, to monitor for potential collisions with oncoming vehicles in parallel lanes.
The technology can automatically apply the brakes when traveling at up to 30 km/h (18 mph) to help prevent or mitigate the effects of accidents in scenarios where a driver is turning across the path of an oncoming vehicle, such as those commonly encountered at intersections or roundabouts. One study found that over one in ten severe accidents at junctions in Europe involved cars colliding with other cars, vans, buses, or trucks at crossroads.
Because Intersection Assist operates without the need to detect road furniture such as lane markings or curbs, it can even intervene in car parks, worksites, or other locations without clear markings or traffic priorities. Both technologies can also operate in daylight and in darkness with the headlights activated.
We’ll have more on Ford’s innovative safety features soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Kuga news and ongoing Ford news coverage.
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