Avoiding minor city incidents and bumps one Ford B-Max at a time. It's a collision prevention system first in a compact Ford vehicle. Whether you are trailing behind someone in traffic while being rather absent minded or you are about to have an unavoidable crash, the company's Active City Stop will be there for you to help out.

Each year more than half-a-million people are injured in car crashes in cities in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain alone. Supposedly, the Active City Stop can be useful in one out of eight of these incidents thus reducing the number significantly.

"Low speed front to rear end collisions are one of the most common accidents in urban traffic," said Roland Schaefer, safety analyst, Ford of Europe. "They can happen at traffic lights, intersections, roundabouts and other stop-start driving situations. You don't have to be travelling fast to get injured. Even at speeds of just 15 km/h you can suffer soft tissue neck injury."

We saw the system first last year in the Ford Focus. It constantly scans the road ahead for obstacles and decides whether or not to apply the breaks when needed. The B-Max can go from 15 km/h to a full stop on its own. At the same time, collisions happening within the 30 km/h range will be greatly relieved.

The subcompact MPV is also equipped with Ford's Hill Launch Assist that prevents you from rolling back upon departure up a slope. A rear view camera and an overall compact structure with a great turning circle make it easy for parking as well. So, car for novice drivers or is that the future? According to Joerg Beyer, Ford Vehicle Line Director, this is the 21 century way.

"Features such as Active City Stop are new to this sector. These technologies, coupled with "B-Max's compact chassis, and tight turning circle supported by carefully tuned electronic power-assisted steering, enable B-Max to be far greater prepared for the demands of even the most congested city." he comments.

Ford B-Max (2012)

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Source: Ford