Toyota to make automatic brakes standard in most vehicles by 2017

By Steve Pak, | March 21, 2016

Driver Assist Feature

Driver Assist Feature

Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that nearly all Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in the United States will be equipped with an automatic braking system by the end of next year. The Japanese automaker shared the news on March 21, Monday just days after the US government announced a deal it made with several car companies representing 99 percent of light vehicle sales, which would make automatic brakes a standard feature by 2022.

Like Us on Facebook

Toyota's new feature detects crashes that could happen soon. It then automatically triggers the brakes if the driver fails to act fast enough.

Such emergency-braking systems use various types of sensors including lasers, radars, and cameras.

The world's largest automaker noted that 25 of 30 models under the Lexus and Toyota brands including Toyota 4Runner and Lexus GX will have a set of standard safety features by the end of 2017. They include auto braking, lane departure warning, and pedestrian detection, according to Yahoo Finance.

Based on the US government's research auto emergency braking could prevent over half of the 1.7 million rear-end accidents that happen each year in the US.

Jim Lentz is chief of Toyota North America. He explained in a statement that driver assist tech does not just protect people during a crash but can also prevent them from happening.

Last September the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported a deal with 10 carmakers to add new tech that would prevent thousands of vehicular accidents from happening every year. The final agreement includes companies including Toyota, Honda, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, and Volkswagen, according to NBC News.

This agreement gives automakers a little longer to add the tech to certain vehicles. That includes those with technical challenges such as manual transmissions.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind told Reuters the federal organization was very excited about the deal. The reason is that vehicles would be equipped with the safety tech before legal rules are passed.

In 2012 rear-end accidents caused about 1,700 American deaths. Researchers have found that 87 percent of deaths and injuries in such crashes could have been prevented by a collision avoidance system.

Here's a Volvo automatic braking system:



©2024 Telegiz All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission
Real Time Analytics