Mazda has developed an advanced safety technology called Smart City Brake Support (SCBS), which helps a driver to avoid a frontal collision when driving at low speeds in the city or in slow traffic. The SCBS system will be available in Mazda’s all-new crossover SUV, the Mazda CX-5, to be launched this spring. When driving from approximately 4 – 30km/h, a laser sensor mounted at the top of the front windshield glass detects a vehicle or obstacle in front of the car and reduces brake rotor travel to quicken braking when the system calculates that there is a risk of a collision occurring. Next, if the driver fails to perform any avoidance maneuver such as applying the brake, an automatic braking operation is activated.
When the speed difference between the driver’s car and the vehicle in front is less than 30km/h, the system is designed to avoid, or mitigate the damage from a collision. The SCBS system also includes Acceleration Control for Automatic Transmission which helps avoid unintentional acceleration that could be caused by depressing the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. If a driver accelerates when an obstacle in front has been detected by the SCBS’ laser sensor, the system alerts the driver with an alarm sound and an indicator. At the same time, engine output is curbed to stop unintended acceleration.
