The new Ford Transit avoids door accidents

The Exit Warning for the Ford Transit is designed to prevent drivers from opening doors into the path of other road users.

Commercial vehicles are becoming increasingly common in our cities, notably due to the rise in parcel deliveries. However, driving on busy urban roads can be challenging for delivery drivers, who may make up to 200 stops per day, especially during the holiday season.

Door-related incidents occur when drivers open their doors without noticing approaching cyclists, scooters, or motorcycles. In France, in 2022, it is estimated that 42,514 cyclists were injured, a +12.7% increase since 2019. This does not include many similar unreported cases.

On the brand new Ford Transit Custom, radars and external sensors detect situations where opening a door could cause a collision with a moving road user. In addition to LED indicators on the exterior mirrors, there is an alert on the dashboard. To avoid false alarms, the system only activates when other road users are exceeding 7 kilometers per hour. In case of emergency, it can also be manually deactivated.

The Exit Warning feature is available on this utility vehicle, both on the driver’s side and the passenger side, which can be useful when the driver or other occupants exit the vehicle from the passenger-side door and there are cyclists on the sidewalk or a bike lane along the road.

The Exit Warning technology is also available on the new Tourneo Custom, providing additional protection for passengers exiting through the rear side sliding doors. This feature will also be extended to the new electric crossover Explorer and is expected to be incorporated into other Ford vehicles in 2024.

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