Automotive Industry Trends

Crash Avoidance: New Technology Promises Safer Roads & Saved Lives

Issue Table of Contents

Crash Costs & Consumer Demand Drive Advances in Auto Safety Crash Avoidance: New Technology Promises Safer Roads & Saved Lives Industry Improves Crash Protection with New, Advanced Technology Automotive Occupant Protection & Safety Standards and Related Publications

The bus carrying tourists from Pennsylvania to Missouri plowed into a line of cars stopped on Interstate 44 near a St. Louis amusement park. This wreck two years ago injured 29 passengers and killed the bus driver and another motorist. The cause? The bus driver noticed too late the stopped cars ahead and failed to brake soon enough to avoid the crash.

But experts say the crash could have been averted if the bus had been outfitted with new crash-avoidance devices. These devices include adaptive cruise control, which adjusts a vehicle’s speed to the speed of the motorist directly ahead, and sensors that warn drivers of potential collisions.

In addition to adaptive cruise control, crash-avoidance technologies now available or under development include:

• Forward-collision warning systems, which detect when objects in the road have slowed or stopped;
• Road- or lane-departure warning devices, which alert drivers when they stray from their lanes;
• Blind-spot warning systems, which signal when there is something behind a vehicle that is backing up and when there is a vehicle in the lane beside it;
• Night vision, which uses infrared detectors to help drivers identify objects that cannot be seen with normal headlights; and
• Stability control, which senses when a driver may lose control of a vehicle and applies brakes to certain wheels to help the driver maintain or regain control.

Safety vs. privacy
Also, ever more precise Global Positioning Satellite auto navigation systems track the positions of cars throughout the world and will help create the detailed GPS maps necessary to monitor traffic everywhere. With telecommunications, the precision of GPS hookups could keep cars in their lanes and prevent accidents.

Precise satellite-based traffic control and data collection raises important issues of privacy. But if you’re concerned about Big Brother in the back seat, don’t lose sight of the benefits, says Clayton Nicholas, product line manager for chassis and warning systems at Delphi Delco Electronics Systems, a world leader in mobile electronics, transportation components and systems technology for auto safety.

“Today, we don’t think twice about seat belts, air bags and anti-lock brakes because we know they save lives,” he says. “And think of the privacy we concede when we go through airport security these days. People rifle through our belongings and search us, but we readily make this trade-off because we know it helps ensure safe passage.”

Standardized Testing & Evaluation
Another concern is testing and evaluation. Unlike seat belts, airbags and bumpers, crash-avoidance technology does not yet have standardized, generally accepted test procedures and performance metrics.

“There’s nothing comparable to frontal barrier crash tests, occupant dummies and head injury criteria,” explains Dr. David Viano, principal of consulting firm ProBiomechanics LLC and former safety specialist for General Motors and Saab. “What’s needed is a ‘science of crash avoidance’ to effectively determine the safety value of these features and evaluate the social, legal, consumer and driver behavior aspects, as well as the purely technical aspect.”¹

The science of crash avoidance is evolving, says Mike Thoeny, Delphi Delco Electronics System’s chief engineer of chassis and warning systems.

“We evaluate sensors and algorithms based on requirements developed by Delphi, analysis of government studies, and in consultation with vehicle manufacturers. Delphi uses very specific criteria to guide both the design and development of our auto safety systems,” he says. “Granted, these metrics are not standardized across carmakers and suppliers. But crash avoidance is a work in progress, an embryonic industry that employs extremely sophisticated sensor and satellite technology. And as this industry matures, we’ll certainly see standardization, as well as broad adoption by consumers.”

¹Deering RK, Viano DC. Critical Success Factors in Crash Avoidance Countermeasure Implementation. From Leading Change: Convergence International Congress on Transportation Electronics, P-283:209-214, SAE 94C025, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, PA, 1994.r.