Patent ID: 8558718

Claim:
A method of operating a collision warning system in a motor vehicle, comprising the steps of: receiving information related to a target vehicle; determining if the target vehicle is in a line of sight of the motor vehicle; the collision warning system including multiple alert modes; operating the collision warning system in a normal alert mode when the target vehicle is in the line of sight of the motor vehicle; operating the collision warning system in an enhanced alert mode when the target vehicle is not in the line of sight of the motor vehicle; wherein the normal alert mode is different than the enhanced alert mode; wherein the step of operating the collision warning system further includes the steps of: determining that the collision warning system is operating in the normal alert mode; calculating a threat level, the threat level being associated with a threat of collision between the motor vehicle and the target vehicle and wherein the threat level is associated with a first threat level and a second threat level that is higher than the first threat level; issuing a warning alert when the threat level is the second threat level; and issuing no alert when the threat level is the first threat level.