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WATCH: This car looks out for cyclists and helps keep the roads safe

<i>Image: The News Market</i>
<i>Image: The News Market</i>

A SEAT engineer and two of his cycling enthusiast friends take to the road to show how the new driving assistant on the Tarraco SUV operates to protect riders, as they are involved in 8% of traffic accidents in Europe.

At the wheel of the Tarraco, Esteban Alcantara, who is responsible for Active Safety at the Spanish automaker, encounters a couple of cyclists travelling in the same direction.

Audible and visual warning

When he gets closer to them, "the front mounted elradar detects their presence, and according to the trajectory and speed of both the car and the cyclists, triggers a number of actions to prevent a possible collision", he says.

WATCH: Cutting it dangerously close - Here's why you should leave 1.5m room when passing cyclists on the road in your vehicle

When the assistant on the car detects an imminent collision in 1.5 or 2 seconds, it activates an audible and visual warning. If the driver does not react, the car automatically begins an emergency braking manoeuvre between 0.8 and 1 second before the possible accident takes place.

According to this engineer, in a real driving situation this means that "when driving down a road at 72km/h, the car would begin to respond approximately 20m before a possible collision", he adds.

Play an important role

This is how many trials this assistant goes through, by recreating 450 different scenarios on a track.

"Simulations are performed in several real driving conditions. Structures are used that reproduce the properties of different road users, such as pedestrians or cyclists, to test how the vehicle responds in each situation", explains this engineer.

SEAT cyclists

                                                                            Image: The News Market

Alcantara acknowledges  that driving assistants  are of great help at the wheel: "Active Safety systems play an increasingly important role in protecting road users, and in some cases can prevent accidents or minimise their consequences."

However, this expert points out that the person driving the car is always ultimately responsible. "This kind of assistant is no substitute for the driver's obligation to remain alert, respect traffic regulations, reduce speed and maintain the safety distance when passing a cyclist", he states.

SEAT cyclists

                                                                              Image: The News Market

At the same time, cyclists have to ride on the right, wear a bicycle helmet in built-up areas, and they are not allowed to ride in a group. "At the Seat R&D Centre we are sensitive about protecting drivers as well as all other road users", says Esteban.

Furthermore, company designer and amateur cyclist Tony Gallardo also emphasises that "more and more people are taking a liking to this sport, so we must stay committed to promoting the correct conduct on the road and to keeping everyone safe", he adds.

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