Safety-conscious women drivers will be able to get automatic braking as standard in a car for the first time.

Volvo is releasing the new XC60 in October with in-built laser technology which measures how far away the car in front is.

If the distance shortens quickly with no driver reaction, the City Safety system will step in and apply the brakes.

Volvo said: "City Safety's potential for reducing the risk of both personal injuries and car bodywork damage is significant."

The firm even hopes to cut insurance costs for foxy lady drivers by holding talks with cover providers to agree a discount for drivers using the XC60.

The technology works at speeds of less than 19mph and is designed to cut bumper-shunt collisions in slow-moving urban traffic.

Volvo said it developed the technology in response to research suggesting 75 per cent of all crashes happen at less than 18mph.

The XC60 picked up a technology award at the Fleet World Honours this week, two years after Volvo first started developing fully automatic braking.

Find out how foxy lady drivers run safer cars.

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