SafetyNewsOnline_en

July 7, TU Munich - Young Academics win Traffic Safety Prize

Young academics of the Technical University Munich won a prize for traffic safety research. Suddenly appearing children on the road force car drivers to react extremely fast. Graduates of the institute for hyperfrequency technique at the TU Munich developed a safety system which activates a automatic emergency brake to avoid accidents. This concept won the first prize of the Student Safety Technology Design Competition which is awarded every two years at the Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). more... (picture source: BMW)

July 7, TU Graz - First graduates of "Traffic Accident Research"

The Technical University Graz announces their first graduates in "Traffic Accident Research". This course started in the fall of 2006 as a postgraduate program as an additional qualification for engineers. Some topics of the master thesis' written during the two-year course include emergency lane changes, parking crash damage analysis or the indentification of defects of utility vehicles. During that time, the students were confronted with accident data and -mechanics, automotive safety, road layout and biomechanics, but also had to attend lectures in psychology, law and traffic politics. more...

July 7, Report of 4th Praxis Conference Pedestrian Protection 2009

The 4th Praxis Conference Pedestrian Protection took place on the 23rd and 24th of June 2009 in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. One of the main topics was the new Flex PLI legform impactor, which is planned to replace the current EEVC WG 17 leg. In Japan the Flex PLI legform impactor should be used starting next year, although the injury criteria have not yet been defined. Another question, discussed at the conference, was the potential of crash-avoiding integral pedestrian protection systems replacing passive systems. Franz Roth from Audi showed that the efficiency of a current pedestrian protection system, enhanced with pre-crash systems, which is rated 3 stars, is twice as good as a passive system which is rated 5 stars. He also demands the considering of provident systems at Euro NCAP. Klaus Rathje presented the active bonnet of the new Mercedes E-Class. The reversible mechanical system found its approval from the pedestrian protection experts from Germany, France, Great Britain, India, Japan and the Czech Republic who attended the conference. Mark your calenders: The 5th Praxis Conference Pedestrian Protection will take place at 30th of June and 1st of July 2010.

July 7, Autoliv introduces high performance reversible seatbelt system - Shows significant advantages in multiple collision impacts

Autoliv presented a new safety system innovation at the 21st Conference Enhanced Safety of Vehicles in Stuttgart, Germany. It is a new high performance reversible pre-pretensioner system for seatbelts that resets itself automatically after triggering. During a multiple collision impact, the high performance system will pull back the occupants during the usually softer first impact to allow more optimum protection from the airbags and seatbelts in secondary impacts. more.. (german)

July 7, fka is developing test-independant Rating System for Pedestrian Protection

The Research Association Automotive Engineering Aachen (fka - Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH Aachen) is developing a test-independent rating system for pedestrian protection on behalf of the German Insurance Association (GDV). The main target is to evaluate effectiveness of passive and active systems in real pedestrian accidents. Among structural design, protection systems like exterior airbags or arrangable bonnets belong to the the field of passive safety. In the field of active safety the main target is to reduce the collision velocity or even prevent the accident at all. Read more about pedestrian protection in our report of the 4th Praxis Conference Pedestrian Protection. more from fka (German .pdf)

July 7, The ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle

The ESF 2009 is the first Experimental Safety Vehicle to be built by Mercedes-Benz since 1974. Like its historic predecessors, it illustrates trailblaz-ing innovations in the field of safety and makes the progress achieved clearly visible. These amazing but by no means crazy ideas include inflatable metallic sections which give more stability to structural components within fractions of a second, as well as the so-called "Braking Bag". This airbag housed within the vehicle floor is deployed when a crash is deemed to be unavoidable, and uses a friction coating to support the vehicle against the road surface. The ESF 2009 will be premiered on 15 June 2009, at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference in Stuttgart. more...

June 8, carhs.training Stand at ESV 2009 in Stuttgart

carhs.training will present their training offer at the fair of the ESV Conference in Stuttgart starting at 15. till 18. of June 2009. Information about AZWV-accredited courses will be provided there, too. In addition to that the new version of the SafetyWissenPoster will be available at the stand of carhs.training (No. 13). Visit us at the ESV and get your personal copy of the Poster featuring the new Euro NCAP rating.

June 8, American Study: Higher Seat Belt Use Could Save Many Lives

A U.S. Department of Transportation study estimates that 1,652 lives could be saved and 22,372 serious injuries avoided each year on America’s roadways if seat belt use rates rose to 90 percent in every state. The new research report, based on 2007 data, also estimates that seat belts saved a stunning 15,147 lives that year. “Wearing a seat belt costs nothing and yet it’s the single most effective traffic safety device ever invented,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We want to let the American people know that by failing to wear your seat belt, you not only risk serious injury or death, you also risk getting a ticket.” The “Click It or Ticket” campaign is set to run from May 18 to May 31. The mobilization, expected to involve more than 10,000 police agencies, is supported by $8 million in national advertising funded through Congress and coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The estimated national seat belt use rate – which stood at 83 percent in 2008 - is based on NHTSA’s National Occupant Protection Use Survey. One of five Americans still fails to buckle up regularly. Of the 4,540 16-to-20 year old passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2007, 2,502 were unbelted at the time of the crash. Teen belt use rates are especially low at night. In 2007, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the 16-to-20 year olds killed in nighttime crashes were unbelted at the time. more...

June 8, Human Modeling - The only Symposium 2009 worldwide in Stuttgart

The application of numerical simulation incorporating digital Human Models characterizes the next exciting step in automotive development. Applying human models in comfort, ergonomics, occupant safety and other disciplines promises to overcome limitations imposed by the use of real humans or their mechanical surrogates. The second “Human Modelling Symposium” is hold on 18th and 19th June 2009 in Stuttgart (Germany) as a post conference event right after the 21st ESV conference to give participants of the ESV the possibility to visit the 2009 Human Modelling Symposium. With the cancelation of the "SAE Digital Human Modelling Conference" in Göteborg (Sweden), the Human Modelling Symposium hosted by carhs.training is the world's only forum on that topic in 2009. More information, the final programm and registration can be found on the website.

June 8, Communication for Motorcycles - TU Darmstadt presents first results of cooperative project MoLife at ESV conference

The Institute of Vehicle Technology at the TU Darmstadt (FZD) and carhs.communication are currently developing a motorcycle-based communication and warning system in a cooperative project "MoLife". Among others possibilites of sensor based detection of high risk situations are determined to create warnings and send them via wireless communication to other road users. FZD will present the first results at this year's ESV in Stuttgart (stand 39). In addition to that FZD will exhibit a prototype equipped with communication technique and vehicle dynamic sensors. more.. (german)