--- title: "Ford Wants Pedestrians to Download an App So Its Trucks Don’t Run Them Over" description: "American car giant Ford has come up with a puzzling new way to ensure pedestrians aren't run over while crossing the street — a smartphone app." date: "2022-09-23" modified: "2022-09-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ford-pedestrians-app" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "driver safety" - "ford" - "the digest" --- # Ford Wants Pedestrians to Download an App So Its Trucks Don’t Run Them Over ![American car giant Ford has come up with a puzzling new way to ensure pedestrians aren't run over while crossing the street — a smartphone app.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Saved by an App American car giant Ford has come up with a puzzling new way to ensure pedestrians aren't run over while crossing the street — a smartphone app. The tech, which the company is set to show off at this week's Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s World Congress in Los Angeles, alerts drivers if they're about to hit a pedestrian — as long as they conveniently have the app installed on their phone. The company claims in a [press release]() that the technology could "potentially help warn drivers of pedestrians, bicyclists and more — even those approaching a vehicle’s path but blocked from a driver’s view." At best, it's utterly puzzling. At worst, it almost sounds like a comical threat: sure would be a shame if you didn't download our app and ended up getting hit by a truck, wouldn't it? ## Blocked From View As [*Vice* points out]() in a scathing takedown, this simply isn't how collisions that involve pedestrians or cyclists happen in the real world. [More often than not](), pedestrians are hit when they try to cross a busy street, not when suddenly emerging from a place where the driver's view is blocked. The company also hasn't explained what the system does beyond an alert on the vehicle's screen and warning sounds. Will the software apply the brakes, or simply alert the driver? Of course, for all of this to work, pedestrians will need a smartphone — which is in and of itself a dangerous assumption to make, considering not everybody chooses to own one or can even afford it, let alone a data plan. Besides, will the system work with non-Ford cars as well? There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying to leverage existing technologies to make driving safer, but we have our doubts whether a smartphone app for pedestrians will be part of a meaningful solution. **READ MORE:** [Ford Thinks the Solution to People Getting Hit by Cars Is More Phone Alerts]() \[*Vice*\] **More on Ford:** *[Even Ford's Electric F-150 Just Got a Massive Price Hike]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()