New technology shows Ford B-Max has street smarts
The new Ford B-Max is the "perfect" car for driving on modern day roads, the Blue Oval has claimed.
Shortly after the launch of the new model, Ford has highlighted a number of features that make the car stand out from its competitors.
One of the key features of the B-Max is the Active City Stop feature, which is designed to reduce the risk of accident in slow-moving traffic.
The B-Max is the first compact Ford to feature the technology, which prevents frontal collision with stationary or other slow-moving vehicles.
Ford of Europe safety analyst Roland Schaefer explained that the technology was introduced after the company researched urban traffic accident statistics.
"Low speed front-to-rear collisions are one of the most common accidents in urban traffic," he commented.
"They can happen at traffic lights, intersections, roundabouts and other stop-start driving situations. You don't have to be travelling fast to get injured. Even at speeds of just 10mph you can suffer soft tissue neck injury."
Ford's data showed that more than half a million injuries are sustained in city car crashes in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain alone, with roughly one-in-eight of those hurt having been involved in slow-speed, rear-end shunts.
As such, the firm has introduced Active City Stop, which applies the vehicles brakes when the system detects that a collision is imminent at speeds of up to 10mph.
Joerg Beyer, Ford's vehicle line director, said this technology, and the B-Max's other key features, make it ideal for driving on the roads of today.
"We believe B-Max is the perfect vehicle for 21st century city driving," he explained.
"These technologies, coupled with B-Max's compact chassis, and tight turning circle supported by carefully tuned electronic power-assisted steering, enable B-Max to be far greater prepared for the demands of even the most congested city."
Posted by Sebastian Turkenburg