After conducting a survey regarding accidents that took place in parking lots involving models equipped with their Intelligent Clearance Sonar (ICS) system, Toyota can now point to a 70% reduction during pedal misapplication accidents, and a 40% reduction during reversing incidents in Japan.

The survey was conducted during an 18-month period from January 2015 to June 2016 in Japan, taking into account approximately 2,500 accidents from insurance companies that cover the policies for about 63,000 Alphard, Vellfire and Prius models.

While no clear difference was observed regarding accidents occurring with forward-moving vehicles, 26,000 ICS-equipped models (out of the 63,000) did their jobs during incidents involving both pedal misapplications as well those where the driver didn’t notice an obstacle while reversing.

The ICS system works by using a clearance sonar to detect obstacles during sudden starts caused by pedal misapplication – which happens way more frequently than some may imagine. Models such as the Alphard, Vellfire and the Prius (all released in 2015) have been equipped with additional sensors boosting the system’s detection range.

In the end, the ICS doesn’t just help reduce collision damage caused by pedal misapplication, but also supports collision avoidance with adjacent vehicles and obstacles while mitigating damage when moving at low speed within a parking lot, even without pedal misapplication.

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