Potholes have to rank as one of the most hated and dreaded things motorists face. The booby traps are destructive, and causes paranoia, especially in the dark. But we’re not alone.
This winter is expected to set records as the worst ever in some parts of Europe, with freezing temperatures, ice and snow likely lead to more cracked and potholed roads. Bad road surfaces contribute to more than a third of all accidents every year in Europe. In the UK, a pothole damage claim is received by local authorities every 17 minutes – with claims averaging £432. In 2011, 20 million potholes were reported in Europe but only half were filled – at an estimated cost of more than €1.2 billion.
While they’re luckier in the sense that repair bills can be sent to local authorities, potholes are still best avoided. Ford is working on something that will help motorists avoid potholes and the misery they bring.
The Blue Oval is currently researching a crowd-sourced virtual pothole map, with testing due to start later this year. The map would show drivers, in real-time, on in-car displays, where potholes are, how bad they are, and suggest alternative routes.
“A virtual pothole map could highlight a new pothole the minute it appears and almost immediately warn other drivers that there is a hazard ahead. Our cars already feature sensors that detect potholes and now we are looking at taking this to the next level,” said Uwe Hoffmann, research engineer, Advanced Chassis Control Technologies, Ford of Europe.
Larger Ford models such as the Galaxy, Mondeo and S-Max already use on-board sensors for Continuously Controlled Damping with Pothole Mitigation, which detects potholes using sensors and adjusts the suspension to help reduce any potential damage.
Engineers are now researching the use of cameras and embedded modems at the Ford Research and Innovation Centre in Germany. Together, these technologies would gather detailed information on the potholes and beam it to the cloud – where it can be made available to other drivers – in real time. Further research is also exploring the use of an active suspension system designed to massively reduce the severity of bumps and rough road surfaces.
Ford already tests new cars on a nightmare 2 km road at its Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium, using replicas of some of the world’s worst potholes.
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Those potholes r nuthing, please come here testing.
JKR & Majlis Perbandaran vehicles should be equipped & get potholes fixed right away..
Klang is like a warzone, Subang is like a minefield
Our JPJ, JKR, MBPJ and DBKL also got map. But their map is money hole map. This map is where they can set up road bloacks and earn the most money in Klang Valley.
Much better than this pothole map
You are wasting time here. NBTD
very useful in malaysia road
hope other car maker will do the same thing as the road condition in our country is so suck ecspecially at jalan kampung
Now I know why Conti cars’ suspension and platform is far superior than the Japs….
You should see the road condition in Japan. Beautiful. And that is why.
U must be tired of bashing Jepunis overlord & now U are trying 2 make peace with the Japs isit ?! Boleh caya kata john ka !!?
What happened to ur Kunta dupe?
Jepunis handling sux
Potholes getting bigger and deeper everywhere, and yet car manufacturers pushing car tyre profiles lower and lower every year. Where’s the logic?
Potholes getting bigger is not a standard I’d recommend to adhere to
“While they’re LUCKIER (si boh..) in the sense that repair bills can be sent to local authorities..”
Here we’ll have quality RM30M tracks for mat rempits. Way to goooo!
Simple
– A F T E R S A L E S –
Because car buyers care about looks. Why do people spend on a Vios TRD? People just like sporty looking cars, they like big rims, … so manufacturers will offer those. Business 101.
If you want, you can always sell those big rims and buy smaller ones. You might even make money, and you’ll save in the long run. No need to see the doctor so early. Car lasts longer. Tyres are cheaper. etc.
yes! this is what ive been saying to all my friends. new car launches with minimum 16 inch rims now. and even lower profile tyres. But it seems that the consumers are the ones that wants these low profiles tyres.
Nowadays its rare to see ‘normal’ cars with 15 inch tyres.
Thank Q to Ford 4 pioneering/working on something that will help motorists avoid potholes & the misery that they bring. Hope this device will make it into most cars one day including affordable cars.
Quote “While they’re luckier in the sense that repair bills can be sent to local authorities, potholes are still best avoided”. hmm.. should start doing that here
cars (bikes, and other vehicles) in malaysia are constantly tested on daily basis.
Here, potholes are so big that it can swallow a motorbike tyre and flips its rider.
Thank you, to all Local Authorities, JKR and the goons…..
our brake pads wear out faster as well due to the heavy braking to avoid the potholes/minimize the impact.i guess in Malaysia a higher profile tire is a must.