Mazda have e vision of a world where road accidents are a thing of the past. That is why exactly they are intensifying their safety program. Today, the company announced that a Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) system will be available in all 2013 CX-5 crossovers. This will be the first phase of a plan to widespread Mazda's safety features to eventually all models within its lineup.

Basically what SCBS does is help oblivious drivers prevent frontal collision with whatever objects in an urban environment. At speeds of up to 30 km/h a laser sensor on the windscreen is in constant vigilance for obstacles ahead. Should something appear in its range, the sensor sends signals trough the SCBS system to the brakes. They are not immediately applied. Instead they get "prepared" for braking by reducing brake rotor travel and await the driver to interfere. That way a more efficient stopping power takes place upon braking. However, if for some reason, the driver does apply the brakes, the SCBS system has another trick up its sleeve – When the speed difference between the driver's car and the vehicle in front is less than 30km/h the system squeezes the disk brakes fully and reduces the engine output automatically in an effort to avoid a collision.

SCBS working principle

Another feature of the SCBS sensor is the inhibition of acceleration when an object is in front of the vehicle. That system is called the 'Acceleration Control for Automatic Transmission' – if, again for some reason, the driver stomps on the accelerator pedal while in a halt in the presence something in front of the car, light and sound alerts start beeping and the car isn't allowed to output the applied acceleration. Sadly this latter feature will only be available for Japan but the whole safety technology trend lets us know Mazda cares about us as customers and is determined to confidently excel in that field.

Mazda CX-5 (2013)

Source: Mazda