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Finding the probable cause of accidents is not always easy. Each accident presents new challenges and, unfortunately, the answers to investigations are not always found in the wreckage at a crash site. Accident investigation often requires a close examination of relevant data regarding the accident vehicle, the circumstances, and the environment. It is this information that can often help us unravel the history of a problem. Therefore, it is extremely important to have the very best research tools and methodologies available in our quest to find the answers to ever-challenging and difficult accident investigations.
We need to have the capability to respond quickly to changing technologies, provide incentives for the trucking industry to apply new technologies, and remove any potential roadblocks. The importance of using technological solutions to solve our highway system problems will increase as the number of vehicles and vehicle miles driven continue to grow. Automotive industry studies have shown that giving a driver just one extra second of warning time can help prevent many accidents.
"If you want great gains in motor vehicle safety, you need to look toward crash-avoidance technologies," says Nicole Nason, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "There are challenges, but it is the future and the way we will see fatality numbers go down."
In January, NHTSA proposed boosting the crash-test star ratings — now based on how well you are protected in a crash — for vehicles with some of the crash-avoidance technologies. That has kicked the competition up a few more gears. The wireless radar technology:Using radar technology developed for military aircraft, the experimental BMW on a test track senses when it's about to crash and simultaneously flashes a red light on the dash, primes the brakes, pushes back on the gas pedal, closes the windows and sunroof, moves the seat upright, cinches the seat belt and adjusts the air bag deployment. If the driver doesn't hit the brakes fast or hard enough, it will do that, too.
The trend of using radar to detect and warn drivers of hazards has been evident for a few years. It began, as usual, with the most expensive luxury cars. But the shift toward crash-avoidance features will accelerate in coming months
For instance, government data show that in 2003 there were more than 3.8 million police-reported crashes of the kind the new technologies could help prevent: rear-end, lane change and run-off-road collisions. That's about 60% of all crashes serious enough to involve police.
Another benefit: The wireless communications that carry crash-avoidance systems' warnings are also the backbone of future "intelligent transportation" systems that will allow cars to communicate with each other and the road, probably within 10 years. Anti-skid braking system:Anti-skid braking system making their way to market include adaptive cruise control, which adjusts a vehicle's speed to the speed of a vehicle in front of it, and sensors that warn drivers of potential collisions. Studies have shown that there is a tremendous number of accidents that could be avoided if drivers had one-half second more of warning.
Crash avoidance technology already is available on a few luxury cars. As with many technological innovations, the initial cost will be high, and it will be years before more advanced _ and affordable _ systems become widely available. Adaptive cruise control (ACC):The technology in Delphi's active safety portfolio, including adaptive cruise control (ACC) forward collision warning, headway alert, side alert, pre-crash sensing and lane departure warning, are all designed to provide the driver with more information.
Delphi's ACC system uses precision long-range radar to detect slower moving vehicles in the ACC equipped vehicle's path and automatically manages speed to maintain a selectable time-gap behind the in-lane vehicle ahead. ACC also serves as the platform for other safety systems like collision warning and mitigation technologies.
The technology, which prevents you from getting too close to the vehicle in front while using cruise control, has been on some BMW, Lexus, Jaguar and Mercedes vehicles for the past few model years. Now the system is trickling down to more affordable vehicles, including Toyota's Sienna minivan and Avalon sedan.
The technology gets even smarter with supplier Continental Teves' "stop and go" system, which is going on the S-Class and will work even in traffic jams.
If a driver allows too much space between his vehicle and the one ahead, another car might cut in front. Adaptive cruise control then would slow down the vehicle to readjust the spacing. That could allow another vehicle to slip in, and again the vehicle would have to slow to maintain the required spacing.
Kornhauser said frustrated drivers might find that they are turning off the adaptive cruise control because speeds change too often in heavy traffic. Intersection driver warning by using advanced sensors:INTERSAFE, the biggest PReVENT sub-project, focuses on traffic safety at intersections. It is an intersection driver warning, using advanced sensors, new vehicle localization algorithms and communication between the vehicle and road infrastructure.” The resulting intersection assistant warns driver of an impending collision or informs them about the situation at the intersection. For instance traffic lights, which are in constant communication with a car’s onboard computer, can transmit extra details about local traffic. Sensors galore:The APALACI sub-project has put together pre-crash and collision-mitigation applications. These include systems to prepare a car’s brakes and to pre-tension seat belts when a collision is imminent. APALACI is developing a system for advanced pre-crash and collision mitigation, including innovative sensor fusion techniques.
Demonstrator cars also feature LATERAL SAFE sub-project with wing mirrors that flash small warning lights when sensors detect a dangerous object in the car’s blind spots. Partner Volvo already produces cars with the first generation of this clever system. LATERAL SAFE is introducing a cluster of safety applications which contribute to the prevention of lateral/rear-related accidents and assist the driver in adverse or low visibility conditions and blind spot areas.
Also notable are rear-view mirrors with warning lights for when the car strays out of its lane or risks a lateral collision. They call on a range of cameras and radars, able to assess objects at a range of distances. The challenge for intelligent safety systems is to avoid false alarms, so that users quickly come to trust them. Crash-avoidance technology:Proponents of crash-avoidance technology have been heartened by evidence that technology known as stability control saves even more lives than air bags do. Stability control uses braking and engine power to keep vehicles from veering off course. It's especially helpful in preventing rollover crashes, which account for about a third of all deaths in passenger vehicles. Even if drivers ignore alerts, such as yellow or red lights on the dashboard or windshield, the warnings become harder to miss until the car independently takes steps to avoid a crash. Lane-departure warnings:These systems warn drivers if they're about to leave their lane unintentionally. The warnings should especially benefit new drivers who tend to overreact once they veer onto the shoulder of the road. They can also benefit drowsy and otherwise distracted drivers. Future versions will help bring the vehicles back into their lanes. Pre-crash warnings:On high-end vehicles, including Lexus and Mercedes models, the ability to detect a possible collision serves to warn drivers. If the driver fails to react, the advanced versions of the system can activate the brakes and even nudge the steering wheel.
The largest road safety research project ever launched in Europe will usher in a series of powerful road-safety systems for European cars. But, in the long term, its basic, experimental research could lead to a car that is virtually uncrashable.
PReVENT envisions the early availability of advanced, next generation preventive and active safety applications and enabling technologies and an accelerated deployment on European roads. Although safety is improving on European roads, every year over 40,000 people die on Europe's roads and 1.4 million accidents occur. The goal of Integrated Project PReVENT is to contribute to the: - Road safety goal of 50% fewer accidents by 2010 - as specified in the key action 2.3.1.10. eSafety for Road and Air Transport from the European Union.
- Competitiveness of the European automotive industry
- European scientific knowledge community on road transport safety
- Congregation and cooperation of European and national organizations and their road transport safety initiatives
A truck exits suddenly from a side road, directly into your lane only dozens of meters ahead. Suddenly, your car issues a warning, starts applying the brakes and attempts to take evasive action. Realizing impact is unavoidable; in-car safety systems pre-tension the safety belts and arm the airbag, timing its release to the second before impact.
Such is the promise of the uncrashable car, coming to a dealer near you in the perhaps not-too-distant future. The system is part of the basic research undertaken by the largest research initiative into road safety ever undertaken in Europe.
PReVENT has a budget of over €50 million and 56 partners pursuing a broad, but highly complementary programme of research. A dozen sub-projects focus on specific road-safety issues, but all projects support and feed into each other in some way.
PReVENT is studying relatively cheap, even simple, technologies – such as parking sensors and existing satellite navigation – that  can be retooled to enhance driver safety. But as part of its broad and deep approach to car safety, it is also diving into more experimental and medium- to long-term systems, innovations that could appear in five-to-ten years.
The uncrashable car is a theoretical construct that concerned a handful of PReVENT’s sub-projects. But it could become far more of a reality than anyone expected.
Of course, it is impossible to stop all car collisions, but the technology could be pushed to make it increasingly unlikely and mitigate crashes when they do occur.
For example, PReVENT project WILLWARN uses wireless communication with other vehicles to alert the driver about potentially dangerous situations ahead, while MAPS&ADAS reads sat-nav maps to track approaching hazards, like bends, dips or intersections. SASPENCE looks at safe driving distances and speed, while LATERALSAFE finally brings active sensing to the blind spot.
All have their role in the uncrashable car, as do many others within the broader project. But two projects, APALACI and COMPOSE, take this a step further, actively tracking the speed and trajectories of surrounding vehicles and other road users in real time. If one vehicle suddenly stops, or a pedestrian suddenly steps onto the road, they swing into action to rapidly calculate the implications.
Predictive collision detectionAPALACI is an advanced pre-crash mitigation system built round the registration of other motorists and cyclists. In the APALACI system, sensors monitor the street or road immediately around the vehicle and collect as much information about a collision as possible, before it even starts to take place.
The system uses this data to decide on the ideal safety reaction strategy. Examples include controlled braking manoeuvres, controlled activation of the occupant restraint systems or pre-arming airbag systems. The car can react far faster than the driver, cutting speed by crucial amounts to ensure unavoidable accidents are less severe.
APALACI also developed a so-called ‘Start Inhibit System’ for trucks. It surveys the blind spot immediately in front of a truck and protects pedestrians or cyclists by preventing dangerous manoeuvres.
APALACI was tested in a series of vehicles like the Fiat Stilo, the Volvo FH12 truck, the Alfa Romeo 156 and Mercedes E350. It used laser sensors, radar, software decision assistance and a variety of other technologies to achieve the goal. Tiny changes have a huge impactCOMPOSE, on the other hand, aims more specifically to keep others, as well as its driver, safe. It can apply the brakes if a pedestrian steps onto the road, or extend the bumper, and raise the bonnet to enhance occupant protection.
Tiny differences have a huge impact on car safety. Dropping speed by 1km/h can reduce accidents with injury by 3 per cent, while braking fractions of a second sooner is enough to reduce the damage caused dramatically.
The systems were tested in the BMW 545i and the Volvo FH12 truck, and they do appreciably enhance safety. But, for all their potential, these systems remain, for now, the preserve of the future.
“The teams developed sophisticated algorithms to track all these elements in the landscape,” explains Matthias Schulze, coordinator of the EU-funded PReVENT project and Senior Manager for ITS & Services at Daimler AG. “But they require enormous computer power to keep track of all the various elements, so this work is aimed at basic research, establishing how it could be done. It will be a while before in-car computers are sophisticated enough to use these systems.”
Nonetheless, they do provide tools that automakers can use to mitigate the potential for accidents, and they provide a clear research roadmap for the uncrashable car of the future.
NHTSA's plan to include credit in its star-rating system for crash-avoidance technology has fueled debate over which of the systems are best.
The agency proposed giving extra credit to vehicles with stability control, lane-departure warnings or rear-ends collision avoidance.
Stability control, which uses brakes and engine power to keep cars from veering off the road, will be required on all vehicles by the 2012 model year and will become ineligible for extra credit.
Automakers, of course, tend to favor the technology they've already committed to. BMW told NHTSA that automakers should get credit for any technology considered crash-avoidance, but that they should be grouped into "proven" and "promising" categories, with all but stability control falling into the latter group. Ref.:
http://cordis.europa.eu
http://www.kcstar.com
http://www.ntsb.gov
http://www.usatoday.com
http://www.sys-con.com
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov 
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