A safety system for a motor vehicle

摘要

A vehicle speed control system includes a sensor for detecting preceding vehicles, such as a radar 14, and an optical sensor 12. The optical sensor 12 senses the operation of rear brake lights on a preceding vehicle. The sensors operate together to induce a reduction in speed, or a collision alert signal, when brake light illumination is sensed from the preceding vehicle and either an imminent collision is sensed, or a sensed relative closing velocity exceeds a critical value. The system may control the speed of the vehicle by actuating a braking system or by modifying a throttle control. The optical sensor 12 may be a camera, and a filter 11 may be fitted to the camera to filter out wavelengths of light not relevant to sensing the operation of rear brake lights.