The Ford Story » Safety

Side Mirrors

Sean — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:45:47 +0000

I love my new Explorer but my wife and I both have issues with the placement of the blind spot mirrors on the side mirrors, especially on the drivers side. At night or inclement weather it is difficult to see properly and detect other cars because of the headlights in the vehicles behind us. The location of the small mirror is at the same height as the headlights in the regular mirror which distorts the image or makes it difficult to use the blind spot mirror. We had to install different blind spot mirrors in the lower outside corner in order to see properly. This made a big difference for us anyway. There seem to be more blind spots with the newer explorer as compared to my 2004.

electronic accessories

Sean — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:11:28 +0000

I drive a 2010 Ford F150 Super cab pickup truck. I keep an ipod hidden under a towel,but I need to unplug the UCB connection when I park and hide it. This way no one is encourgaged to steal it by breaking in. The UCB connection to the dashboard should have the option to be hidden so I don’t have to connect and disconnect each time.

HID and LED lighting

Sean — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:08:01 +0000

Please offer HID and LED lighting on 2013 F-150s. The current headlamp’s light output on 2012 F-150s is too dim and a safety hazard for night driving especially in rural areas. You would have to continuously run bright lights in order to get proper lighting on the road.

Mirror Eliminating

Sean — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:07:06 +0000

Why wouldn’t Ford eliminate the outside mirrors and Use dash screens to allow cameras to illustrate these views eliminating unnecessary wind drag. I’d also like to see the rear view mirror replaced as well by a camer/dash screen

saftey for your car

Sean — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:24:36 +0000

Hi i am 11 years old.I was in my car and said i have a way i can get money.So i said i should make something.It is a scanner on your car and you scan your I.D.And you scan it on the scanner and get in and unlock your car.I hope you like it,

Thankyou,
Kaitlin joseph

Aspheric Wing Mirrors

Sean — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:33:46 +0000

Whilst the blind spot mirror on the Mustang is useful, it is not intuitive as it shows a discontinuous image and, it also suffers from refelective glare.
An aspheric mirror as used by some other manufacturers provides a far more natural solution to generating a wider viewing angle to see cars in the blind spots.

verbal command

Sean — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:30:44 +0000

As a woman I believe my safety is my prime concern. For example if I’m walking to my car I may

Unsafe therefore

my idea: My ford edge should have the ability to understand several key commends such as open, help (horn would sound) start car, take picture (camera mounted above rear view mirror.)

Driver’s Ed, Ford Style

Tori — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:17:33 +0000

We still remember that summer. While most teens our age were at the beach, we were in a darkened classroom with eight other students learning driver’s ed through an extended course offered at the high school. After sitting through an uninspired lecture and an industrial film that we seem to recall was so old it featured Model Ts, it was time to actually drive!

Driver’s training has come a long way, baby! This week, Ford Motor Company Fund and the Governors Highway Safety Association will begin the ninth year of Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) in the U.S., a program that sets out to improve the skills of drivers. Although the U.S. arm of DSFL focuses on teens, China and other Asia Pacific markets have expanded in this, their fifth year, to include first-time drivers of all ages. While DSFL isn’t meant to replace traditional driver’s training, it is a great opportunity for teens to learn more about vehicle control.

The U.S. DSFL tour will hit 30 high schools in five states, where Ford will bring a transporter with specially equipped vehicles as well as pro drivers. Activities are geared toward improving skills and providing hands-on instruction in four key areas: driver distraction, speed/space management, vehicle handling and hazard recognition. DSFL provides free professional driver instruction, a Web-based curriculum, state grants and materials.

DSFL reached 35,000 teen drivers on the high school tour last year and the same number is expected to participate this year. Reducing the number of traffic fatalities and injuries remains the key mission for DSFL in the Ford global markets, where the program utilizes training to enhance the learning process and bridge the experience gap for new drivers. Many DSFL participants in Asia are first-time drivers, as the region’s emerging economies are driving a rapid rise in vehicle ownership. So far, 50,000 have participated in the program across Asia with another 12,000 expected in 2012.

Ford DSFL continues to provide interactive Web-based training called “The Academy” on www.drivingskillsforlife.com, and free materials upon request for students, educators, parents and community organizations.

Automatic brake lights

Sean — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:19:06 +0000

As a vehicle approaches from behind… an inatentive driver, perhaps texting or dosing.
If you are driving say at 55mph and a vehicle is fast approaching from behind you at a rate of speed that will colide with you, sensed by the rear bumper sensors, when the onboard computer determines the safe braking distance (of vehicle from behind) is getting dangerous your brake light would automatically activate, flash if the vehicle gets closer.

Maybe the textor or dosing driver would be alerted by your brake lights and avoid slamming into you from behind.

Increased Ground Clearance/Movable Lower Valance

Sean — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:15:05 +0000

With the lowering of the body on the new Explorer, and insufficient ground clearance on the AWD Flex and Edge, these vehicles are plowing the snow and risking breaking the lower front valances. We know that this was done for increased fuel mileage, but it is greatly defeating the purpose of the vehicle, especially with the AWD option. PLEASE increase the ground clearance of these vehicles when AWD is optioned, especially before my lease expires this year.

In addition, the designers and engineers need to add a movable lower front valance, especially with the low ground clearances, that would prevent it’s breakage in the event snow or ice is built up in front of it while driving in winter weather conditions. This would be not unlike the grills that were designed to move with the then new
5-mph bumpers, so as not to break when involved in a low speed collision.