www.womanthismonth.com 53 May 2013 | Showcase Safety First EUROMOTORS Road safety is taken to a new level through intelligent networking of drivers, vehicles and the outside world. Driver, car and environment; by interconnecting these three elements, the BMW Group has created something truly unique. Under the umbrella of BMW ConnectedDrive, the group has developed a range of new technological features that give the driver and passenger information and services to help make driving safer and more comfortable. The outcome: sheer driving pleasure that takes on a whole new dimension. Available across the entire BMW range of new models as optional features, the BMW ConnectedDrive elements fall into three categories: comfort, safety and infotainment. Comfort. The comfort level focuses on the communications level of the passenger and the outside world, something central to BMW ConnectedDrive. With Surround View, the control display offers a 270 degree bird’s eye view of everything around the car, providing support when manoeuvring and parking in tight spaces. Infotainment. This encompasses information and entertainment at the same level as at work or at home. The ‘infotainment’ zone defines communication between the driver and passenger, promoting active social exchange between the two. What’s more, BMW is the first automobile manufacturer to offer unlimited on-board Internet access. Once the car has safely stopped, you can surf the web on the control display and use the iDrive Controller as a mouse. That is only the beginning; you can now set up your office in a BMW using your smartphone by importing your contacts and setting up an external mailbox to check emails. Safety. The central area of safety symbolises the interaction between the driver and the environment with active safety measures such as driver assistance systems. These features enable the vehicle to pass information relevant to safety onto the driver. Among these is the head-up display. Derived from the information technology for fighter jet pilots, it helps make driving safer by projecting information about the current speed, route navigation on to the windscreen as a virtual image to ensure the driver’s attention stays on the road. In the event of an accident, crash sensors automatically activate the Advance Emergency Call and at the same time precise positioning data for your vehicle’s location is automatically transmitted. The park assist allows the vehicle to parallel-park itself, where the driver only needs to operate the accelerator and brake. A sensor automatically scans parked cars for available space. The collision warning with brake activation uses radar technology to monitor distance to the car ahead and provide warnings wherever necessary. If the driver fails to respond, the system automatically brakes. Call 17 750-750.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==