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Continental has put a sensor system for avoiding rear-end collisions into series production following an order for the new Volvo XC60.

The sensor is part of the ContiGuard safety system and is fitted at the back of the rear-view mirror on the windscreen of the vehicle. It sends three infrared beams out to a distance of 6m in front of the vehicle to detect other vehicles travelling in the same direction or stationary.

The sensor is then linked to the vehicle's braking system, and applies the brakes if the distance to the next car is less than the critical distance for the speed the vehicle is travelling at.

Where the speed differential is 15km/h or less, Conti says, a colision would normally be avoided. At higher relative speeds, any crash would be less severe than it would have been.

The system can also be linked into airbag deployment systems for occupant safety.

The braking system on the XC60 also has a stabilisation function that detects if a trailer is starting to "fishtail" and applies the brakes individually to the wheels of both the vehicle and the trailer to bring it under control. The ESC electronic stability control cluster has an additional roll sensor fitted.