SafetyNewsOnline

Sept. 8, New Euro NCAP Rating aims at enforcing better pedestrian protection

EuroNCAP used the publication of the latest test results to address the insufficient results regarding pedestrian protection. According to Euro NCAP, 97% of the 34 cars tested last year received a four or five-star award for adult occupant protection. Yet, 67% of them did not achieve higher than a two star score in Euro NCAP’s pedestrian rating. Euro NCAP plans to address this concern with the launch of a new rating system in 2009, which includes pedestrian protection in the overall rating. This, Euro NCAP hopes, will lead to a general improvement of overall safety. Click here for the entire press release.
How complex will the new Euro NCAP rating be? This question is sure to concern many experts for vehicle safety. Carhs.training will provide answers at the UpDate Seminar “The new Euro NCAP Rating” on 27 and 28 October 2008. You will find all details and the programme here (in German).

Sept. 8, New EU project INTERSAFE-2 launched under Ibeo management

Under the management of the Hamburg based laser technology company Ibeo Automobile Sensor the road safety project INTERSAFE-2 was launched recently. The INTERSAFE-2 project aims to develop and demonstrate a Cooperative Intersection Safety System (CISS) that is able to significantly reduce injury and fatal accidents at intersections.  The first INTERSAFE project was successfully completed under Ibeo management in January 2007. Kay Fürstenberg, Ibeo’s Director of Research has now managed to launch the follow-up project INTERSAFE-2 as a STREP (Specific Targeted Research Project) within the 7th EU framework programme. The CISS combines warning and intervention functions both at intersections with communication with traffic lights and intersections without additional equipment. The total project budget is 6.6 M. Euros. Project partners are among others VW, BMW, Volvo, TRW, INRIA, VTT and NEC. Mr. Fürstenberg received compliments from the European Commission for the quality of the project proposal.

Sept. 8, Mercedes-Benz will start serial production for Attention Assist in spring 2009

Scientific studies show that about 25 % of all serious traffic accidents on motorways are caused by tired drivers. Therefore this accident cause has more importance than drunken driving. Long holiday trips without any pauses involve a high risk of fatigue – according to the experts’ opinions – which drivers often do not become aware of in time. This is why Mercedes-Benz is developing the new assistance system Attention Assist. It can recognize the driver’s fatigue at the first sign and requests him / her to make a pause in time before he / she falls into the dangerous microsleep. Serial production of the system will start in spring 2009. Attention Assist observes the driving behaviour of the driver, creating an individual driver profile, which is continually being compared with current sensor data. The permanent observation is crucial for recognizing the smooth transition of the driver from being awake to being tired and for being able to warn the driver in time. Click here for the entire press release.

Sept. 8, Less fatalities on German roads in first half of 2008

The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced that according to preliminary results 2,170 traffic participants were killed on German roads in the first half of 2008; this amounts to 298 or 12 % fewer fatal injuries than in the reference period of the previous year. Against the background of this clear reduction, the positive development of fatal traffic injuries is expected to continue this year as well. The number of light and serious traffic injuries also fell during the time period of January to June 2008: it fell by 7.7% to 194,600 compared to the first half of 2007. Altogether, the police had to register 1.1 million traffic accidents on German roads in the first six months of this year, 2.8% less than in the same period of 2007. About 152,600 accidents involved people getting injured (– 7.3%) and about 951,400 accidents only involved material damage (– 2.0%). You will find a further differentiation of the data here (in German).

Sept. 8, ADAC shows limits of passive safety

With a high-speed crash test of 80 km/h against a deformable barrier, the German ADAC has shown that vehicles will reach the limits of passive safety, even in spite of a five-star rating. During the test with the Renault Laguna, the 56 % rise in kinetic energy led to the passenger cabin reaching its stability limit which involved a higher risk of injury for the occupants. The ADAC therefore demands driver assistance systems which recognize accident situations and help the driver prevent the accident or which reduce accident severity – e.g. by means of a braking assistant. You will find further details on the ADAC test here (in German).

Sept. 8, Continental develops active accelerator pedal

In order to realise the potential of driver assistance systems to avoid accidents, Continental has now developed the Accelerator Force Feedback Pedal (AFFP) within the safety system Conti Guard. It warns against dangerous situations by vibrating and by creating a counter pressure. This is made possible by means of an electric motor which is directly connected with the gas pedal and which can change the position of the pedal in only 0.1 seconds. You will find further technical details here (pdf).
Learn more about the state-of-the-art technology of driver assistance systems for accident prevention and about possibilities for the verification of these systems at the Grazer SafetyUpDate on 23 and 24 September 2008.