Method of preventing collisions by reacting to control system failures

A system for controlling a plurality of driverless vehicles in a fixed guideway system, comprising:

• an interface in each of the vehicles;
• and
• a station controller that communicates with the interface in each of the vehicles to control the application of emergency braking in each of the vehicles, the station controller controlling the application of emergency braking in each of the vehicles by:
• identifying a controlled braking rate for each of the plurality of vehicles, the controlled braking rate including best and worst case jerk and acceleration rates for emergency braking;
• periodically determining whether there are any safety violations in the system, the determination taking into account the controlled braking rates of the vehicles, and
• withholding transmission of a safety signal to certain of the vehicles if there is a violation.