Vehicle Safety and Driver Assist Technologies

We hold ourselves to very high standards for vehicle safety.

Design Building in safety from the beginning
Technologies Developing solutions to improve safety and convenience
Collaboration Creating the transportation system of the future, together
Driver education Encouraging safer driver behavior on the roadways

Design

Building in safety from the beginning

Internal Guidelines

Ford’s stringent internal design targets for safety exceed regulatory requirements.
Public Domain Ratings

We work hard to achieve high levels of performance in government- and nonprofit-sponsored crash tests.

Technologies

Developing solutions to improve safety and convenience

Driver Assist

We offer a wide array of accident avoidance and driver assist technologies.
Occupant Protection

We continue to innovate in safety belts and other structural and passive safety elements.
Post-Crash

Our post-crash notification systems can help occupants summon assistance in an emergency.
Electrified Vehicles

We’re helping to ensure that first responders can safely deal with crashes involving electric vehicles.

Collaboration

Creating the transportation system of the future, together

USCAR

We are active members of the U.S. Council for Automotive Research.
University Partnerships

We fund 53 research projects – many on safety-related topics – at 35 universities globally.
Connected Vehicles

We take part in numerous research projects aimed at proving out “connected vehicle” technologies.

Driver education

Encouraging safer driver behavior on the roadways

Ford Driving Skills for Life

Our flagship driver-education program trains newly licensed drivers in the U.S., Asia and Africa.
Operation Teen Safe Driving

Since this program’s launch in 2007, teen vehicle crash deaths in Illinois have decreased by 48 percent.
Ford MyKey®

Ford MyKey helps parents encourage their teenagers to drive more safely.

At Ford, we hold ourselves to very high standards for vehicle safety. The fact is, vehicle safety is a critical part of our brand promise to Go Further. We aim to give customers peace of mind and make the world safer by developing advanced safety technologies and making them available across a wide range of vehicles.

We are specifically committed to:

designing and manufacturing vehicles that achieve high levels of performance in real-world safety and in government- or nonprofit-sponsored crash tests and offer innovative safety and driver assist technologies;
meeting or exceeding all regulatory requirements for safety;
providing information, educational programs and advanced technologies to assist in promoting safe driving practices;
playing a leadership role in vehicle safety research and innovation; and
playing a leadership role in research and development relating to “connected vehicles.”

Ford has delivered on these commitments and remains among the global leaders in vehicle safety. To date, for example, Ford Motor Company has earned a total of 91 “Top Safety Picks” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – more than any other manufacturer in the eight-year history of that crash testing program.¹ To earn a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must receive a rating of “good” in offset frontal impact, side impact, rear impact and roof strength evaluations, and offer electronic stability control. Starting in 2013, the IIHS added a new rating of “Top Safety Pick+”. To achieve this rating, a vehicle must receive a “good” in the above tests and a “good” or “acceptable” in a new small overlap rigid barrier test.

See the next page for notable safety-related highlights from 2012 and early 2013.

93 percent of 2013 model year Ford Motor Company vehicle nameplates tested were named IIHS Top Safety Picks

Driver Education

In 2012, Ford’s flagship driver education program – Ford Driving Skills for Life – visited more than 175 high schools in 10 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.

Connected Vehicles

We are taking part in numerous research projects – on our own and in cooperation with others – to develop and demonstrate “connected vehicle” technologies.

Historic totals include all brands and entities owned and controlled by the manufacturer during the 2006–2013 calendar years. For Ford Motor Company, this includes Ford and Lincoln, as well as Mercury (through the 2011 model year) and Volvo (through the 2010 model year). Totals do not include Mazda.