ABSTRACT
At an oval test track in southeast Michigan two vehicles entered. The lead target vehicle launched immediately down the track at 40 mph staying in the right lane. About a minute later the second (host) test vehicle departed at 60 mph. With a quick flip of a switch the host driver took his hand off the wheel. Embedded in the road was a steel cable [1]. The vehicle remained centered in the right lane as the distance closed at 30 feet per second on the target vehicle launched a minute earlier. A red warning light on the dashboard turned on along with the distance readout. At 80 feet the light began to flash and audible increasing pitched alert warned the driver of an impending collision. Finally, just before impact, the brakes were automatically engaged. While no one dared run this vehicle into the back of another vehicle it was demonstrated against several soft targets. The vehicle later went on to demonstrate adaptive cruise control by maintaining a safe and constant distance behind a lead target vehicle even as the target vehicle slowed down.
