BMW Neue Klasse makes more active safety tech standard, all in the name of cyclist safety

BMW’s next-generation driver assistance systems add new collision avoidance, parking and exit functions as standard

With the arrival of the Neue Klasse, BMW is expanding its range of standard active safety and driver assistance systems across multiple model lines.

The new BMW iX3 is the first production model to feature the technology, with the BMW i3, BMW X5 and updated BMW 7 Series set to follow.

BMW says its Symbiotic Drive philosophy is designed to make driver assistance less intrusive by allowing the car to recognise driver intent through steering inputs, indicators and line of sight.

Door opening delay helps prevent cyclist collisions

One of the key additions is an enhanced Exit Warning system designed to reduce the risk of “dooring” accidents.

Side radars monitor the area around the parked vehicle for approaching road users, including cyclists. If a collision risk is detected, the electronic door lock can temporarily delay the opening of the door until the danger has passed.

BMW cites German Insurance Association data showing that 392 dooring accidents were recorded in Berlin in 2024, accounting for just under eight per cent of all bicycle accidents in the city.

Emergency steering and braking

The new safety systems can also provide steering and braking assistance in critical situations.

An emergency steering function can automatically steer the vehicle around an obstacle while keeping it within its own lane. It can also provide a steering intervention to help avoid a potential side-impact collision.

The Emergency Brake Assistant with evasive steering support can apply the brakes up to full deceleration when a head-on collision is imminent. Improved sensors also allow the system to assist when animals are detected on the road.

More assistance when parking

BMW has also upgraded its parking safety systems.

Active Park Distance Control uses ultrasonic sensors and surround-view cameras to detect obstacles and can apply the brakes at the rear and, for the first time, at the sides.

Cross-traffic emergency braking can help when reversing out of a parking space, while start monitoring can detect potential accelerator-pedal misapplication at very low speeds.

If an obstacle is detected within one metre at speeds of up to 2km/h and the accelerator is pressed unusually quickly and forcefully, the system can intervene and bring the vehicle to a controlled stop.

Emergency stop for medical situations

The Attentiveness Assistant with emergency stop can also provide assistance if the driver is detected to be no longer fit to drive.

The system can temporarily take control, bring the vehicle to a controlled stop, activate the hazard lights and trigger an eCall. The driver can override the system at any time.

BMW says these functions are supported by a new central computer known as the “Superbrain of Automated Driving”, which has approximately 20 times the computing power of the previous system.

The company has also been testing its driver assistance technology at its 600-hectare Future Mobility Development Center in Sokolov, Czech Republic, which features around 25km of test tracks.

According to BMW, analysis of customer-consented data from 1.3 million vehicles covered 1.6 billion kilometres in Europe in the latest month analysed. Drivers received approximately eight million collision warnings, while active steering and braking interventions helped prevent a potential collision in 243,977 cases.

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“The Future Mobility Development Center in Sokolov is much more than a proving ground for us. It is a central component of our development strategy enabling us to bring innovations in advanced driving assistance systems to series production quickly, safely and with a clear customer focus. This unique testing environment allows us to recreate real-world driving scenarios under highly demanding and reproducible conditions. As a result, we are reinforcing the BMW Group’s technological leadership for the long term.,” says Dr. Martin Sautter, Senior Vice President Vehicle Certification at the BMW Group.