Ford claims its steering assist collision avoidance system will be available on new models from 2018.

FORD HAS ANNOUNCED its clever collision avoidance system is called ‘evasive steering assist’. This system piggy backs off Ford’s existing autonomous emergency braking systems using the same radar and cameras and activating as a third function of those other AEB systems.

If the AEB detects, based on the rate of deceleration and the proximity to the object in front, that there isn’t enough time for the car to stop and avoid the collision, then it will speed up the steering to allow the driver to swerve around the object.

“As soon as the driver tries to steer around a slower car in an emergency, evasive steering assist activates to help execute the evasive manoeuvre by making it easier to perform quick steering movements,” said Peter Zegelaar, technical expert brake controls, Automated Driving, Ford of Europe.

Ford is also working on a system that will send rental car companies weak at the knees… it’s called Wrong Way Alert and it’s designed to warn a driver against entering the highway from the wrong direction.

Before you start giggling, in Germany, where the system will be offered first, around 20 people every year are killed in collisions where they drove the wrong way on a road. This system builds on Ford’s Traffic Sign Recognition functionality.

Ford is also working on a range of car parking assist systems after it conducted research in the UK that suggested almost half of all drivers would drive further from their destination than attempt a parallel park. To solve that problem, Ford has rolled out its enhanced parking assist which autonomously parks the car, meaning the driver doesn’t have to touch a single control when parking their car.