Toyota Safety Sense

Earlier this year Toyota introduced their Safety Sense pack, a new set of safety technologies designed to help prevent accidents or lessen their consequences. But how much do you know about these new features and the benefits they can bring you?

Firstly Toyota expect Safety Sense to be available on up to 70% of new Toyota cars in Europe by the end of the year. Toyota believes it is important to develop an approach to safety that involves people, vehicles and the traffic environment. The new technology has been developed by analysing and learning from previous road traffic accidents and applying the knowledge gained to the new system.

Seigo Kazumaki, Toyota’s Chief Safety Technology Officer explains, “Of all the things we do at Toyota, safety is the number one priority. We see traffic safety as being about a blend of vehicles, people and the traffic environment. Each is critical, and it’s important to improve the safety of each element, but we are most effective when we manage to integrate all three. As vehicles become better able to recognise, judge and react to a situation, so must their drivers become smarter, ever-alert and in control.”

Here are some of the key features of Toyota Safety Sense:

Pre-Collision System

The Pre-Collision System can detect objects on the road ahead and can reduce the risk of hitting the car in front. If a possible collision is detected an audible and visual warning will prompt the driver to brake. The braking system will provide extra stopping force when the driver presses the pedal. If the driver cannot react in time, the system automatically applies the brakes, to prevent or lessen the impact of a collision.

Adaptive Cruise Control

Adaptive Cruise Control will help the driver to keep a safe distance from the car in front. It will detect the car in front, measure its speed and then adjusts the speed of the Toyota car, helping to maintain a safe distance.

Lane Departure Alert

This safety system monitors lane markings on the road and helps prevent accidents and head-on collisions caused by a vehicle leaving its lane. If the car deviates from its lane without indicators being used the driver will get a visual and audible warning.

Automatic High Beam

This feature ensures excellent visibility when driving at night. It detects the headlights of oncoming vehicles and taillights of vehicles in front and automatically switches between high and low beam to avoid dazzling other drivers.

Road Sign Assist

This will keep the driver informed even if they have driven past a road sign without noticing. It recognises signage such as speed limits, overtaking and road conditions and signs used on the motorways and will display the information on a colour screen in your dashboard.