Ford knows that driving high-sided vehicles during
storms and strong gusting winds can be stressful, which is why it has come up
with a new technology.
Available on the Transit and Transit Custom, fitted
with the EcoBlue diesel engine, at no additional cost, it helps drivers keep
their vehicles in lane when their van is hit by a sudden crosswind or
turbulence, and was baptized the 'Side Wind Stabilization'.
It's an advanced feature that was developed in-house
by the Blue Oval's engineers and works by having the commercial vehicle's
brakes applied on one side, to reduce the effect of side winds, courtesy of a
system that monitors stability sensors more than 100 times/second, at speeds
over 80 km/h. It can automatically engage the braking on one side
within less than 200 milliseconds, which equals to the time needed for a
sprinter athlete to react to the starting pistol.
Ford have already tested the new system at a special
track, where six powerful fans were brought to generate crosswinds of up to 80 km/h. Additionally, the automaker also evaluated the technology on
public roads, before making it available.