GMC Announces Innovative Safety Alert System Will Be Included With 2014 Sierra.

Making major news in the automotive industry, the all-new 2014 GMC Sierra is arriving in dealerships boasting available advanced active safety options never before seen in the full-size pickup truck class. These include Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning, derived from equally-innovative GMC technologies such as Safety Alert Seat.

Utilizing the bottom of the seat cushion is the secret behind the Safety Alert Seat, according to GMC. With it installed, Sierra owners experience vibration transmitted through the surface of the driver’s seat bottom cushion. With regard to the Lane Departure Warning System, a camera detects when the vehicle is weaving from a lane without a turn signal activated for that particular direction, resulting in vibration from the left or right seat bolster depending on which lane is being “encroached,” as according to GMC representatives. The Forward Collision Alert System, meanwhile, is designed to detect a potential front-oriented collision by vibrating both sides of the seat.

“Ever experience an individual tapping on your shoulder while in a crowd to garner your attention?” asks Raymond Kiefer, General Motors’ Active Safety Technical Fellow. “That’s what we’re attempting to parallel with these new Sierra safety systems; using the tactile sense to communicate crash threat detection, GM is striving to provide an effective and intuitive fashion in which to bypass the ‘clutter’ of visual and auditory sensory information routinely experienced by drivers.

Further – our research indicates that the seat actually has the potential to direct driver attention towards the location of a crash threat faster and more accurately than so-called ‘beeping alerts’.”

In Sierras equipped with Forward Collision Alert, a camera sits behind the windshield for the purpose of monitoring traffic ahead while simultaneously estimating time-to-collision. Vehicles directly ahead of the equipped Sierra come to the driver’s attention via a green-hued, vehicle-shaped icon nestled within the instrument cluster, and when the Sierra comes within the allotted vicinity of the other vehicle this indicator/icon transforms to an orange hue. When coming upon a vehicle ahead at too rapid a speed, red lights flash on the Sierra’s windshield so the driver is alerted either audibly or via the optional Safety Alert Seat.

Beyond this myriad of technologies, the 2014 Sierra boasts a plethora of additional active safety features including standard StabiliTrak and optional equipment such as a Rear Vision Camera and Front and Rear Park Assist. Trailering safety technologies are also available on this state-of-the-art GMC vehicle, encompassing Trailer Sway Control and an Integrated Trailer Brake Controller.

For more information on innovative GMC models, visit www.gmc.com.