Ever wonder what it’s like to experience an advanced safety system in a car accident? This Ford Ranger owner speaks honestly about how technology’s split-second intervention can save lives.
A Ford Ranger owner in Sydney has given us a glimpse at how an advanced safety system saved the lives of the occupants of both vehicles in the horrific ‘T-bone’ crash earlier this month.
With a broken wrist and dislocated shoulder, Ford Ranger owner Ahmed Zuberi said his injury, and that of the other driver, could have been worse without the intervention of advanced safety technology.
While collision avoidance systems designed to reduce the impact of crashes or prevent them altogether have been used in new cars for more than a decade, few have shared their experiences of how the technology is being used in the real world.
Mr. Zuberi was driving home in his new Ford Ranger with his wife and a friend in early January when the driver of a Mazda 6 sedan swerved in front of him against traffic.
“It all happened so quickly,” Mr Zuberi told drive“Another car swerved in front of me and (automatic emergency braking) immediately slammed on the brakes.
“For a split second, the warning light on the dashboard flashed, the beep sounded, and the brakes went full throttle. The car reacted faster than a human would in that situation.
“Our cars collided, but my speed was reduced when we made contact.”
Mr Zuberi estimated that the emergency braking system slowed the car from about 60km/h to about 40km/h in the blink of an eye.
“If (automatic emergency braking) hadn’t been activated, the crash would have happened at a higher speed, I’m not sure if the driver of the other car would have survived, we could have been hurt more. I just thank everyone for walking away. “
Mr Zuberi said his wife, who was in the front passenger seat, and his friend in the back seat were unhurt, although he suffered some injuries.
“After the crash I didn’t have the strength (hands) to choose to stop, so someone did it for me. I know my left hand and right shoulder are sore, but I also know I’ve been lucky. This could have been worse if the impact had been faster. .”
The Ford Ranger automatically initiated calls to the 000 emergency services while the explosive material in the two front airbags and one knee airbag (the other six did not need to deploy) was still smoking.
Since 2013, Ford’s automatic emergency dial assist has been available on select models in Australia – triggered after an airbag deploys in an accident, when a phone is paired to the vehicle via Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The automatic emergency dial technology became more widely available in Ford vehicles in 2015, when it was introduced to the Ford Ranger ute and Ford Everest SUV – and has been standard on all new Ford vehicles sold in Australia since 2020.
Ford says it has sold more than 500,000 vehicles equipped with the emergency assistance system in Australia so far, but it doesn’t know how many times the technology has been activated.
“We do not have data on how many times this feature has been deployed, as our systems do not collect that information,” a Ford Australia spokesman told drive.
However, a Ford representative noted: “Emergency Assist is something Ford Australia is proud of and something we hope our customers never have to experience.”
Emergency assistance technology allows occupants to cancel the automatic call within 10 seconds after the airbags have deployed. If there is no response, calls will be forwarded to 000.
The technology is designed to connect drivers with first responders more quickly and alert emergency services of the vehicle’s location (via satellite coordinates) if the driver or vehicle occupants become incapacitated.
“I heard the phone ringing, but at first I didn’t know what it was,” Mr Zuberi said. “I’m still in shock and going through what just happened. But the car automatically dialed 000 and they were able to respond quickly.”
The driver of the other vehicle was taken to hospital as a precaution but was released shortly after arrival, but Mr Zuberi required medical attention.
“I have no doubt that this would have been a much more serious accident without this technology.”
Mr Zuberi was so impressed he shared the aftermath of his real-life crash on social media, here’s what drive Discovered his experience and contacted him for advice.
“Guys, trust me, you guys have a solid and safe car. Saved my life. All the airbags are on. The anti-collision devices are on. The automatic emergency dial is on,” he told Next Gen Ranger Owners Australia Team Facebook.
He is now awaiting a replacement for his written off Ford Ranger XLS 4×4. “Obviously you don’t want anyone going through that experience, but honestly, without this technology, it could have been a much worse outcome for the driver of the other car.”
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