A system for sensing a potential collision of a first vehicle (11) with a second vehicle (72) that transmits a second position signal. The first vehicle has a pre-crash sensing system (10) includes a memory (14) that stores vehicle data and generates a vehicle data signal. A first global positioning system (18) generates a first position signal corresponding to a position of the first vehicle. A first sensor (20) generating sensor signals from the first vehicle. A receiver (22) receives a second position signal and a braking capability signal from the second vehicle. A countermeasure system (40) is also coupled within the first vehicle. A controller (12) is coupled to the memory (14), the global positioning receiver (18) the first sensor (20) and the counter measure system (40). The controller (12) determines a distance to the second vehicle in as a function of the second position signal, determines a first vehicle trajectory from the first sensor data signal and the position signal. The controller (12) determines a threat level as a function of the distance, the first vehicle trajectory and the braking capability signal and activates the counter-measure system in response to the threat level.