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Along the way to the fully self-driving car, we're gonna make a few stops.
One of which will be the crash-proof car.
The concept is a car with sufficiently sophisticated driver-assist technology that it can avoid, or alert you to avoid, almost Any collision.
ESP initiates a one-sided braking intervention that can move the vehicle out of the danger zone.
That's a talent that is distinct from being able to drive itself.
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Volvo's new XC90, for example, is a first step toward its goal of crash-free, or at least injury from crash-free cars by 2020
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Among the tech To get it there is automatic braking to prevent frontal collision, automatic braking to avoid turning left into oncoming traffic, pedestrian and animal detection, road edge and barrier protection, adaptive cruise control with steering assistance and vehicle to vehicle communication.
None of this is science fiction.
Although the V2V technology is still being brokered between regulators and car makers.
At CES Ford gave a very realistic look of coming V2V technology that can let cars signal each other.
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Wow.
Providing another layer of input to help them avoid collision.
A really important and efficient way to warn someone is the audible warning.
They hear that doot doot doot doot doot.
Exactly.
Which means get out of the way.
Warning.
Exactly.
[LAUGH] BMW is showing how an array of laser scanners looking out from around the car can detect almost anything.
That is about to occupy the same space as the vehicle, the purist definition of a collision from another car to a pedestrian to a wall.
Nad we need to keep in mind that the driver's the best sensor that we have.
However, drivers do tend to get distracted.
And we need to bring him back to the loop which we do by providing the warning and assisting with him with the braking situation.
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The European Union is aiming for zero road fatalities by 2050 and sooner than that cutting them in half
By 2020 largely relying on these kinds of technology bundles.
Even in showrooms today it pays to double check if the car you're considering buying has as many of these technologies as possible on the march towards crash proof driving.
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More realities of modern driving revealed now at CNETOnCars.com.
Click on Smarter Driver.
