Kit to stop red light runners

Clever new anti-collision technology from Toyota can help motorists avoid other traffic and pedestrians – and even stop them running red lights!

The latest development in the firm’s Intelligent Transport Systems, it detects vehicles, street furniture and passers-by that drivers may not have spotted. It then helps prevent a crash by sending a signal if it thinks the car might not stop in time.

These in-car audio and visual alarms are triggered when the vehicle passes transmitters that are installed in other motors, at junctions or carried by pedestrians as small handheld units.

At traffic lights, the system could even brake the car to a halt if it thinks the driver hasn’t noticed the signal is on red. And the device will also give motorists details about an approaching car’s position on the road. The Japanese company isn't the first to launch kit that allows vehicles to communicate with each other. But recent developments make Toyota’s set-up one of the most advanced of its kind.

A spokesman for the firm said: “These systems are expected to reduce the number of traffic accidents that are difficult to prevent with conventional safety devices.” The communication software was recently unveiled at the company’s technical centre in Tokyo.