A consortium of major European auto manufacturers, engineers and researchers have developed prototype technology sensing and then alerting drivers if pedestrians and cyclists are about to collide with their vehicle.

However, the members of the Watch-Over group still have fine-tuning to do before the system can be marketed.

Project coordinator Dr Luisa Andreone told the European Commission, which put up Euro 3.32 million in funding, that the system still needs to better distinguish between safe and dangerous situations.

“You might have a pedestrian… who has no intention crossing the road the driver should not receive a warning,” she said, but sometimes it does send a false alert.

Also more work is required to integrate the technology into existing electronic systems of cars manufactured by the consortium manufacturers – notably Fiat and Daimler.

However Dr Andreone stressed a marketable system was “within reach”.