Car that stops itself from crashing

A car that "sees" pedestrians in the road ahead and automatically slams on the brakes if an accident is imminent has been developed by British scientists.

The development could save the lives of thousands of people who are fatally injured in road accidents each year.

The "smart" car uses technology first seen in heat-seeking missiles - and the devices will be available to be fitted to family cars within years.

The system will function up to 25mph, speeds at which most urban

pedestrian accidents occur. It will automatically cut out at higher speeds when applying the brakes would cause mayhem for following vehicles.

Its ability to avoid a pedestrian relies on a bank of radar and infra-red sensors hidden inside its radiator grille.

The radar builds up a detailed picture of obstacles in the road ahead even in dense fog or heavy rain.

The infra-red detectors single out objects that are warm - and moving - to pinpoint pedestrians at risk.

This information is then sent to a " black box" computer installed under the bonnet. This analyses the data from the sensors and works out whether the obstacle is a person rather than an animal.

Then, if the computer calculates that the car is on a collision course with a person and a crash is going to happen, it over-rides the brakes to perform an emergency stop.

The car would particularly boost safety at night as it detects pedestrians in all conditions. It also reacts far more quickly than a motorist.

Government officials - who provided funding to develop the system - were impressed during secret trials at the Transport Research Laboratory.

Now scientists at Surrey University, who developed the technology, expect it to be fitted to a major manufacturer's cars within five years.

" A lot of people had thought this technology was years off," said Dr Eddie Moxey, lead researcher at Surrey.

"In fact it worked very well indeed and could save the lives of those who are most vulnerable - pedestrians."

Dr Moxey said the technology was "almost" ready to go into production

but that it required fine-tuning by a major car-maker.

It also requires new legislation that is currently being considered by the Department for Transport. "It is a difficult area - the law has to be sure who would be responsible when the car suddenly applies its own brakes," said Dr Moxey. "Who is in control - the driver or the technology?"

The project has cost up to ? 500,000 to develop but eventually systems should cost about ?200 to fit to a car.

"It will, at worst, reduce speed before impact," said Dr Moxey. "Every 5mph of speed

you can knock off makes a dramatic difference to the severity of injury suffered by a pedestrian."

Surrey University research shows more than 6,000 pedestrians and cyclists are killed each year on EU roads - about a quarter of all road deaths.

More than seven in 10 of these accidents are at "town" speeds and more than eight in 10 of those were injured by the front of the vehicle.

A spokesman for the DfT said: "This is certainly something we are putting investment into. We hope manufacturers will think it's a great thing too."