Mazda implementing rear-facing radar system from 2009

Safety technology is going increasingly high-tech as companies and governments get into the business of making cars ever safer. Advanced features like radar are making their way into everyday cars, evidenced by a report that Mazda will begin including its Rear Vehicle Monitoring System (RVMS) as a standard feature on European Mazda6 Sport models from February 2009.

Though the report hasn't yet been confirmed by Mazda, nor has the scope of the implementation - no word on U.S. availability yet - the system itself appears to be ready to go into production.

Based around two rearward-facing sensors that detect the traffic behind and to the sides of the car, the RVMS can alert the driver not only of cars approaching rapidly but also of cars in the traditional blind spots just off the rear quarter panels, according to Swedish publication Auto Motor & Sport. The alert is triggered when a car is detected in a dangerous zone and the driver has activated a turn indicator. A warning is communicated to the driver via a small indicator mounted near the A-pillar and an audible tone.

The system also warns of vehicles within 150ft (50m) of the rear of the car when approaching at more than 36mph (60km/h), helping to anticipate cars that will be in the blind spot area by the time the driver actually moves into the next lane.

Mazda notes a survey by the NHTSA that finds 9% of all accidents in the U.S. occur during lane-change maneuvers, making it the fourth-most prevalent cause of accidents, and highlighting the use such a system could find on American roads. The company already offers the Blind Spot Monitoring System, available since 2007, in the U.S.