Toyota Safety Sense Picks Up First in FirstCar Awards

Toyota’s advanced safety systems have been recognised at the inaugural FirstCar Awards, winning the Best Safety Technology category.

The awards by FirstCar magazine, a publication focussed on learner and newly qualified drivers, highlight and celebrate excellence in driving instruction, safety technology and vehicles from the viewpoint of young drivers.

Toyota Safety Sense is a range of active safety systems designed to keep driver and passengers out of harm’s way. At low speeds Toyota Safety Sense can help prevent collisions entirely, while at higher speeds, it aims to lessen the severity of any impact.

Editor of FirstCar magazine, David Motton, explained the reasons behind the award, “We’re pleased to make Toyota Safety Sense the winner of our Best Safety Technology award. Toyota Safety Sense is a great example of big-car safety features filtering down to smaller vehicles. We congratulate Toyota on its efforts to make high-tech safety features affordable to new drivers.”

Available on 11 out of 15 versions of the Aygo city car, this suite of safety technologies includes Autonomous Emergency Braking, which operates at speeds between 19-49mph. It also features Lane Departure Alert to warn the driver if they are drifting out of lane without indicating, and Pre-Crash Brake Assist which delivers full braking force as soon as the pedal is pressed in an emergency.

More than five million Toyotas worldwide are now using Toyota Safety Sense; in Europe, 92 per cent of new cars are fitted with the technology. Studies in Japan reveal that in real-world traffic conditions there has been an approximate 50 per cent reduction in rear-end collisions – and a decrease of around 90 per cent where Toyota Safety Sense operates in combination with an Intelligent Clearance Sonar (ICS).