Audi's New Luxury Sedan Has A Clever Way To Avoid Pileup Crashes

On top of a suite of luxury technologies (try five different massage functions in the front and rear seats), the brand's flagship luxury sedan is designed to prevent collisions.

And if a collision does happen, the A8 has a good chance at making sure it doesn't turn into a multi-car pileup.

That's because it's equipped with "secondary collision assist." If the A8 is hit hard enough to trigger an airbag, the electronic stability control system applies the brakes, as long as those are intact.

According to the European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP), which assesses car safety, the system can slow the car down to about 6 mph. The hazard and brake lights go on automatically.

In a serious accident, it's likely the driver will lose control of the car. Automatically hitting the brakes is a good way to cut the chances of hitting another vehicle, and making a bad situation worse.

If the driver maintains control and feels that braking is the more dangerous choice, he can override the system by hitting the accelerator.

Clever.

The Audi A8 will go on sale in the U.S. this summer. Pricing hasn't been announced. The S8, the sporty version of the sedan, will also debut in Detroit.