How intelligent detection, warning, braking are making your drive safer

Nissan Intelligent Mobility: Forward Collision Warning, Forward Emergency Braking

Distracted driving is everyone's problem. 

In a perfect, fully law-abiding world, those behind the wheel would have their phones on silent and focus on the task at hand: driving. But the reality is far from ideal, much less perfect.

While phones help us stay connected to our family, friends, and help us accomplish so much on the course of a day, they can also be the bane of our roads. The latest Intagram photo, the funniest Facebook post, or a highly anticipated SMS from your -uh- crush isn't something you should be paying attention to behind the wheel, challenging as the temptation may be. Studies have consistently shown that distracted driving -particularly when a driver is using a mobile smartphone- is a major safety issue that makes our roads ever more dangerous each day.

What if, however, there was a system that helped mitigate accidents that could be the result of distracted driving? What if there was a safety feature that pays even more attention to whats going on in front of a car? 

That's where technologies like Nissan's Intelligent Forward Collision Warning, Forward Emergency Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and many more come in to the picture.

As part of the company's thrust known as Nissan Intelligent Mobility, these high tech safety features are helping to minimize the risk of a frontal vehicle accident in two very distinct but innovative ways, and they're available right now in the Nissan X-Trail.

Heads Up!

The easiest and simplest way to think of Nissan's new Forward Collision Warning is like when someone yells “Heads Up!” during a basketball game or a “Fore!” when you're on the golf course. The feature warns the driver when there is a chance that he or she may collide with the vehicle ahead.

Nissan's Intelligent Forward Collision Warning achieves this by using a system of sensors around the X-Trail, most important of which is the radar sensor on the bumper that detects the speeds of the vehicles up ahead. If the system senses that the car in front has slowed down for whatever reason and the driver hasn't decreased the speed to avoid contact, it will get the driver's attention to the danger. The system can even detect if another vehicle has pulled into the lane.

The advantages are clear: this Nissan is always paying attention. And it matters not if the brake lights of the vehicle ahead didn't come on either if they're busted or if the driver in front decelerated by shifting down; if there's a potential for a frontal crash, Forward Collision Warning will detect it and alert the driver.

Forward Collision Warning does three things to get the driver's attention on the danger: the first is the visual warning, the second is an audible alarm, and the third is a firm tug of the seatbelt, all to get the driver to slow down and avoid a crash.

When All Else Fails

But the technology takes it a step further; not only can it warn the driver of danger, it can also assume a measure of control on the vehicle to prevent a crash.

That technology is called Nissan Intelligent Forward Emergency Braking. If, even after all the alerts fail to get the response that the computer is looking for -particularly that of the driver stepping on the brakes or slowing down- then the system will take over momentarily and bring the vehicle to a complete stop.

Forward Emergency Braking takes the same sensors, but can activate the brakes when it senses immediate danger, mitigating the risk of an accident.

A Step Forward

We live and drive in an imperfect world, one beset by distractions and dangers around every bend, often of our own making. Features like Intelligent Forward Collision Warning and Forward Emergency Braking aren't meant to replace the skill and attention of a good driver, but can help make life just that little bit safer by providing an extra layer of safety and security that we've never had before.

These technologies from Nissan are part of a thrust to drive the automobile in a new direction, one that makes it more connected, more eco-friendly, and ultimately, safer.

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To know more about Nissan Intelligent Mobility, click on this link.