Toyota Pre-Crash Safety: Protection That Works Before An Accident Happens

Today’s cars are equipped with increasingly sophisticated equipment to help you avoid an accident, but there are still times when a collision becomes inevitable. Airbag deployment, pre-tensioning of seatbelts, decoupling of pedals and the absorption of impact forces in defined crumple zones all help protect the driver and passengers, but lives could be saved and injuries could be lessened if certain safety systems were activated immediately before an impact, rather than after it.

Toyota is making a major advance in driver and passenger protection with the development of Pre-crash Safety, a system that recognises when a collision is going to happen. The timing involves just fractions of seconds, but that can be enough to prevent serious injury or even death.

Key Points

• Toyota developing Pre-crash Safety, intelligent technology which can predict a crash and launch safety systems ahead of an impact
• Millimetre-wave radar determines unavoidable collisions with other traffic and obstacles
• Triggering of seatbelt retractors and brake assist before an impact increases passenger protection and potentially reduces accident injuries and fatalities
• Pre-crash Safety part of Toyota’s wider programme of Intelligent Transport Systems research and development
• Potential application of new technology in production models during 2003

The Toyota Pre-crash System comprises three core elements:

• The Pre-crash sensor, a millimetre-wave radar that detects vehicles and obstacles ahead
• Pre-crash driver and front passenger seatbelts that retract as soon as a collision is identified
• Pre-crash brake assist which increases braking pressure as soon as the driver begins to depress the brake pedal