Photo of wrong-way alert courtesy of Ford.

Photo of wrong-way alert courtesy of Ford.

Ford is developing several next-generation driver-assisting technologies, including evasive steering that can steer the vehicle away from a collision if the driver doesn't respond and an alert that recognizes when a driver is heading the wrong direction on a road, the automaker has announced.

The evasive steering technology can help drivers steer around stopped or slower-moving vehicles to help avoid collisions. It can operate at city and highway speeds, and uses radar and a camera to detect slower-moving or stopped vehicles. View an animation showing how it works here.

The wrong-way alert technology uses a windshield-mounted camera and information from the car's navigation system to offer customers visual and audio warnings if they're driving in the wrong direction. View a video from Ford about the alert here.

Ford is also developing other technologies, such as button-activated enhanced park assist that controls steering, gear selection and forward and reverse movement to facilitate parking. Ford is also working on a cross-traffic alert with braking that uses radar sensors to monitor the area behind the vehicle and automatically apply the brakes if a pedestrian is detected and the driver fails to respond.

The technologies will begin to launch in the next two years, said Alan Hall, a Ford spokesman.

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