Let's Go Places, Safely

Collisions that result in serious injury are often caused by the delay in a driver’s recognition of the situation and their ability to react accordingly. We’ve developed Active Safety Technologies to help make our drivers aware of the hazards of the road, and bring them one step closer to avoiding crashes altogether.

Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)³ helps prevent wheel-slip and loss of traction by reducing engine power and applying brake force to wheels that need it. The system reads data from a steering wheel sensor and the ABS wheel-speed sensors to determine if the vehicle is following the driver’s steering inputs. If the vehicle is deviating from the direction in which the driver is steering, VSC is designed to reduce engine power and pulse the left- or right-side brakes to help correct the situation.

No one wants to get into a collision. But if they do happen, we want to help reduce damage and injury. Which is one of the reasons why we developed our Pre-Collision System⁴ that uses radar technology to not only warn you when the system determines there is a high probability that a frontal collision will occur, but will, under certain circumstances, even apply the brakes and automatically retract your seatbelt if the system determines an impact is imminent.

To help keep our roads safe for everyone (not just drivers), we've developed Pedestrian Safety Systems, which are available on many of our vehicles. A Pre-Collision System (PCS) uses automatic steering, in addition to increased pre-collision braking force and automatic braking, to help prevent collisions with pedestrians.

Even with properly adjusted mirrors, you may have difficulty seeing to the side and rear of you in the next lane. That’s why the Blind Spot Monitor (BSM)⁵ with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA)⁶ are here to help. With radar to scan a vehicle’s blind spots, a small warning signal on the correct side mirror can let you know when another vehicle has come into them.

With Lane Departure Alert⁷, if the system determines that you are deviating from your lane, your Toyota vehicle can let you know. When driving over 32 MPH on a road that has visible lane markers, the system uses a specialized camera to recognize visible lane markers and judges when you've drifted away from them. Once you do, your vehicle emits an audible beeping sound and an indicator light flashes on the instrument panel.

The most important safety feature of any car is the one located behind the wheel: the driver. That's why we created our Go Safely initiative — a variety of safety education programs that help develop better drivers of all ages.

The first year after a teen gets their license will be one of the most dangerous of their life. So we developed extensive programs to educate teen drivers and their parents. We’ve also worked with organizations like the AARP to create specially designed programs for adults. After all, we believe that a well-educated driver is a safe driver.

When research showed that three out of every four child car seats were being installed incorrectly, we had to respond. Partnering with experts at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, we helped create Buckle Up for Life, a program that educated the entire family on critical behaviors—like always buckling up, and how to install a car seat the right way.

This program has produced real results—in one city alone, proper use of child car seats by program participants nearly tripled. Even better, the program has now expanded to cities all across the U.S. That’s a lot of families riding more safely.

It’s a fact that a teenager’s first year of driving will be one of the most dangerous years of their life.

And it’s also a fact that teens get most of their driving habits, good and bad, from their parents. Which is why we created TeenDrive365^TM. With a collection of resources, online tools, safe driving tips, the Mutual Driving Agreement and special teen driver events across the country, it’s our goal to help you achieve yours: guiding your teen through that first critical year behind the wheel, as well as a lifetime of safe driving.

Helping to make the roads we all share safe for drivers of all ages. It’s why we’re proud sponsors of AARP’s Driver Safety Program, the nation’s first and largest driver safety course designed specifically for drivers age 50 and over.

Every year, thousands of mature drivers participate in the program both online and in classrooms in all 50 states to keep their driving skills sharp and up-to-date and usually are rewarded with a reduced rate on their insurance. And that’s a good thing. Because the better we all drive, the more safe we all are.

Advancements in safety research are too important not to share. Along with continually searching for ways to make safe vehicles, we look to apply our safety insights for the benefit of everyone. And a big part of this commitment is our Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC). It’s a state-of-the-art facility that makes our knowledge and our technology readily available to researchers from major universities and safety institutes—and even other companies in the automotive industry. One current focus at CSRC is to find ways we can help make cars safe for people at each stage of life—from infants, to teens, to mature drivers. Creating safe cars is a good thing. Creating a safe society, even better.

Standard on all Toyota vehicles, with the exception of the Yaris iA, the STAR™ Safety System helps drivers maintain control and avoid collisions in certain conditions. These six systems are designed to enhance driver reaction times and help keep everyone in the vehicle safe and secure.

The VSC system helps restrain sideways slippage of the vehicle during a strong understeer tendency or strong oversteer tendency while cornering.

Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control

Effects cooperative control with the power steering ECU assembly in order to provide steering assist in accordance with the operating conditions of the vehicle

The TRAC system helps restrain the slippage of the drive wheels if the driver depresses the accelerator pedal excessively when starting off or accelerating on a slippery surface.

The ABS helps prevent the wheels from locking when the brakes are applied firmly or when braking on a slippery surface.

EBD control utilizes the ABS, realizing proper brake force distribution between the front and rear wheels in accordance with the driving conditions. When braking while cornering, it also controls the brake forces of the right and left wheels, helping maintain vehicle behavior.

The primary purpose of brake assist is to provide supplementary brake force to assist a driver who cannot generate a large brake force during emergency braking, thus helping ensure the braking performance of the vehicle.