Infiniti EX35 Raises the Bar for Safety

The new Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) takes Infiniti's lane departure warning (LDW), which first debuted in 2004 on the Infiniti FX cross/utility vehicle, to the next step.  LDW uses a rear-view mirror-mounted camera to look ahead and chart the vehicle’s path by measuring the lateral distance between lane markers. By mating this technology to the vehicle’s stability control system, LDP is able to keep the car on the road by correcting its path.

“When you’re getting too close to the lane markers, the first thing (LDP) will do is beep and also give you a visual signal that you are approaching the lane (line),” says Bob Yakushi, director-product safety and environmental for Nissan North America Inc., at a recent media event here.

“If you continue to ignore that, it will now engage the vehicle dynamic control system and activate the brakes on the opposite side of your drift. So if you’re drifting left the brakes will apply on the right side to gently pull you back into the lane.”

Moving the steering wheel to correct a drift stops the VDC intervention. Additionally, “The system works at a speed of about 45 mph (72 km/h) and will not operate if you turn your turn signal on, because it assumes you know what you’re doing,” Yakushi says.

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