Don’t you hate it when you’re stuck in a traffic jam, only to move further up and see that it was caused by a couple of drivers that weren’t paying attention? Volvo’s just developed a system that aims to minimize exactly that by forcing the car to brake when it senses an accident is about to happen. Dubbed City Safety, system uses optical radar to detect cars ahead and can bring the car to a standstill.

If the relative speed difference between the two vehicles is below 15 km/h, the system can help the driver avoid the collision entirely. Between 15 and 30 km/h, the focus is instead on reducing speed as much as possible before the impact.

The difference between City Safety and advanced radar-guided cruise control systems such as those found in the new Mercedes Benz S-class is that City Safety is designed to work in stop start traffic and only monitors vehicles up to 6m ahead of your car.