CZECH car maker Skoda has announced a set of safety features which are to make their debut for the brand in the fourth-generation Octavia when it is released in UK showrooms this summer.

The company says the measures are designed not only to ensure safety for the driver of the vehicle but also other motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

The new Octavia, priced from £22,390, will be the first Skoda to be fitted with Turn Assist, exit warning and a collision avoidance system.

Turn Assist uses the Octavia's on-board cameras to monitor oncoming traffic when turning right at a junction as well as identify cyclists and pedestrians.

If immediate danger is detected when executing a manoeuvre, the vehicle will be brought to a complete standstill, triggering the warning signal and preventing a possible collision.

This advanced safety feature will be in standby mode every time the engine is switched on and is activated when the right indicator is on.

While the indicator would demonstrate to other road users the intention of the driver, Turn Assist is able to ensure additional assistance so that any potential accident is avoided.

The exit warning technology, which is part of the blind spot detection system, comes into effect when the car is parked up.

It monitors the rear and sides of the vehicle, the system warns the driver and other passengers when it may not be safe to open their door through the use of visual warning lights and sounding an alert, both of which will continue until the hazard has passed or if the doors remain open.

Working on both the front and rear doors, the alert will avoid passengers swinging their doors open and causing a possible collision with a cyclist - known as ‘dooring' - or any other road users.

The cameras in the new Octavia are able to observe possible hazards to the rear of the vehicle up to a distance of 35 metres and at angle of approximately 120 degrees, providing assurance for drivers and passengers on when it is safe to exit the car.

The new Octavia is also the first Skoda to be fitted with a collision avoidance system which uses the front cameras of the vehicle to detect an impending accident and perform a controlled evasive manoeuvre around the hazard.

The system uses real-time data provided by the array of cameras and radars to calculate the most appropriate, and crucially the safest, trajectory around the potential danger, whether that be from other vehicles, a cyclist or a pedestrian.

Cyclists will further be protected by Skoda's Predictive Cycling Protection feature which uses the front cameras and radar to trigger a cascade of warnings to the driver if a cyclist is detected ahead - and will even engage the emergency brakes if necessary to avoid any possible accident.