Good times on the road can become even better if your mind takes the backseat to relax. But that’s possible only when your vehicle is equipped with the finest safety features. Like those in a Lexus. The Advanced Pre-Crash System (APCS) with Collision Avoidance Assist, is like having an alert co-occupant with you—except of course, the co-occupant is equipped with super-sophisticated features like millimeter radar and near-infrared rays. In short, it’s one of the most advanced automotive safety systems available.

The latest Advanced Pre-Crash System with Collision Avoidance Assist is designed to do some impressive work. When activated, APCS constantly scans for hazards ahead while the vehicle is in motion. It does this using milliwave radar, which is emitted from behind the Lexus badge, plus a stereo camera that’s integrated into the rear-view mirror.

The system scans beyond the range of the low-beam headlights, meaning the APCS-equipped Lexus models have the potential to recognize a hazard at night before a fully alert driver can see it.

And while APCS is scanning the road ahead, another system, the optional Driver Attention Monitor, is monitoring the direction the driver is facing to confirm that you’re facing forward. In the event of a hazard in your path, a whole lot of different things happen very fast. Right away, the APCS computer calculates the vehicle’s speed and closing ratio. Meanwhile, the Driver Attention Monitor is calculating the driver’s status: Are your eyes fully open? Have you turned to face your buddy to reemphasize the size of that huge rainbow trout you caught earlier?

In both situations, the system will flash a warning light and sound an alarm; if that doesn’t get your attention, the Collision Avoidance System is designed to actually apply the brakes.

The purpose of applying the brakes is two-fold: to get the driver’s attention so that further evasive action can hopefully be taken, and also to help mitigate the effects of a potential collision. As part of its capabilities, this newly available APCS feature is designed to bring the vehicle to a complete stop at speeds below 24 miles per hour.

In the LS, an enhanced system not only recognizes other vehicles but pedestrians as well, thanks to two stereo cameras facing outward. It’s also noteworthy that the system works day or night—many similar systems in non-Lexus vehicles are designed only for daytime operation.

So about those worst-case scenarios, where the vehicle is really, really close and a collision is unavoidable? Here, the passive safety features of the Advanced Pre-Crash System come into play. To help give the driver an added advantage, APCS pressurizes the Brake Assist, so that once the driver applies the brake, it will deliver extra braking power.

Also, to help protect the driver and front passenger, when APCS detects that an unavoidable frontal collision is imminent, it retracts the front seatbelts. On vehicles equipped with Adaptive Variable Suspension or Air Suspension, it also stiffens the front suspension to help prevent a nose dive from sudden braking, which in turn helps the driver keep control.

Encouraged by innovation, the process to create a Lexus vehicle is unique within the automotive industry. Taking inspiration from fields as diverse as the fashion industry, architecture, the arts and medicine, each vehicle is painstakingly crafted to meet Lexus’ exacting standards.

Lexus vehicles are brought to you in Oman by the Saud Bahwan Group. In Oman, every Lexus vehicle comes with special benefits and privileges such as 6 years unlimited extended mileage protection – AMAN BAHWAN and Lexus Prestige Club Card that offers 24 hours on-road assistance from AAA.