Watch: GM's new 'active safety' facility

DETROIT, Michigan - More than 37 000 people a year are killed and 2.4-million injured or disabled on US roads.

The data comes from General Motors, which adds "imagine living in a world where vehicles alert their driver to imminent danger and automatically intervene in a critical situation".

GM says it has taken a step closer to achieving fewer vehicle crashes with the opening of an active safety test area at its proving grounds in Millford, Michigan.

SAFETY TECH ALREADY IN USE

GM reports: "Safety engineers will use it to develop and test some of the industry’s most advanced crash-avoidance technology though Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac already offer 22 of these innovative safety features in their 2016 line-up."

VIDEO: GM's new Active Safety Test centre in action

Some examples of available crash-avoidance technologies:

Low-speed front auto braking – If the system detects a potential front-end collision it will automatically brake to reduce impact severity.

Front pedestrian braking – The system alerts the driver to avoid or reduce injury should the car approach a detected pedestrian

All-round vision recorder – Allows the driver to record, store and play back video recorded by the vehicle’s Surround Vision cameras.