Ford Lane Keeping System – Stops You From Dreaming on the Road

What’s a lane keeping system?  Well were here to tell you.  Have you ever dozed off or lost focus on the road… or perhaps on the highway? If you are part of the more than 40% of the american population that admits to falling asleep or dozing off behind the wheel according to a survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, then I’d say there is a pretty good chance most of you have.  If so, hopefully you found yourself jolting back awake after finding out you are veering off of you lane and are able to correct yourself. What happens if you couldn’t wake up in time? Catastrophic results could be in store for you, your passengers and the drivers around you.

Introducing the best thing since Coffee: the Ford lane keeping system. Ford is releasing an all-new lane assist feature debuting on the Ford Explorer which will be released in early 2012. This feature will audibly warn you when it detects that you are going out of your lane. Using a small forward-facing camera mounted on the windshield, behind the rearview mirror,  the system analyzes the road ahead and predicts where the vehicle should be, within its current lane, relative to the lane markings on both sides of the vehicle.

Check out the video below for more information and demonstrations on how the new lane keeping system works.

“Our engineering teams tested this technology for thousands of miles in many parts of the country to help ensure it performs on a wide range of roads with different lane markings,” said Michael Kane, vehicle engineering supervisor for Driver Assistance Technologies for Ford, who helped develop the technologies.

If a driving pattern consistent to that of a drowsy driver is detected by the system, a chime will sound and a coffee cup icon will appear on the dashboard recommending the driver to take a break. If the first warning wasn’t good enough, another chime will kick in until the vehicle is in good positioning within the lane.

The system is momentarily over-ridden to avoid confusion in a number of situations:  the driver signals, counter steering, hard braking or fast accelerating. When the driver stops, opens the door, or turns off the engine the information is reset. It’s a no-brainer to me; I know it always helps to have a friend with you keeping you awake on the road. Ford is that friend for you with this new technology.