Europe’s major vehicle manufacturers are banding together in a research project to road test new intelligent and safety technology.

Ford, BMW, Fiat, Daimler, Volkswagen, Volvo and MAN will join intelligent safety equipment partnership Ertico and others in tests using 1,500 vehicles over the next three years.

They will assess equipment designed to give forward collision, lane departure, curve speed, and driver impairment warnings; adaptive cruise control; speed limiters; blind spot information systems; fuel efficiency advisers and safe human-machine interaction technology.

Called euroFOT, the study’s technical experts will test their use on vehicles from 11 brands, including those made by participating manufacturers.

EuroFOT says the tests will assess the technology’s effectiveness in real road conditions.