VAUXHALL is to introduce pioneering “see around corners” headlight technology in the new Vectra and Signum cars to be launched later this year.

Adapative Forward Lighting (AFL) combines swivelling bi-xenon headlights that turn at a 90 degree angle for intersections and narrow corners.

Vauxhall is the first car manufacturer to make this new lighting technology available in mid-size cars. The AFL system, developed jointly by Vauxhall and Hella, will later be available in other Vauxhall models.

Kevin Wale, Vauxhall managing director, said: “The system offers a significant improvement in road safety and driving comfort. It is also further proof of Vauxhall’s ability to innovate, because our goal is to make attractive technology affordable in all types of cars.”

The aim of the lighting specialists at Vauxhall was to make driving in the dark and in bad weather conditions easier and safer. According to the latest figures from Germany’s Federal Statistics Bureau, more than 40 per cent of all fatal automobile accidents occur at night, despite the fact that there is up to 80 per cent less traffic on the road than during the day.