Brake Assist to be Standard in Small Cars?

Continental say a city emergency brake assist system is set to become standard equipment in small cars, and the supplier are working to get in on the ground floor. The system recognises critical situations early on and intervenes with optimal braking, providing an important driver assistance system in urban areas. “Each year, the German police register approximately 200,000 such crashes with other vehicles in cities and towns,” says a Continental statement.
Their Emergency Brake Assist City (EBA-City) system has an optical sensor with infrared beams to monitor the road ahead for a distance of up to around ten metres, with the electronics calculating the distance to the car in front. If this distance decreases so rapidly that a collision seems likely, the system intervenes by alerting the braking system. If the driver does not immediately let up on the accelerator pedal and apply sufficient braking force, the emergency brake assist helps by reducing the braking system’s response time or automatically initiating emergency braking if the driver does not brake at all.
At low speeds of up to 20kmh, rear-end collisions can be prevented in most situations. At higher speeds, automatic emergency braking can greatly mitigate the impact speed, helping to protect passengers in both cars involved.
Continental say “After seat belts, we consider the emergency brake assist the most important method of protecting people inside and outside the vehicle. In this way, we are coming even closer to achieving Vision Zero in urban traffic.” The first small cars to feature the emergency brake assistant from Continental are already available.