By Steve Ranger, 22 February 2006 16:50
NEWS
In-car technology projects underway in Europe could stop thousands of accidents every year, according to the European Commission.
Driving the development of smarter, safer and cleaner cars is part of the EU's European Information Society 2010 (i2010) strategy to boost growth and jobs in the digital economy.
The 'intelligent car' is one of three i2010 flagship projects aiming to show how IT can improve quality of life. But the EC is warning more work needs to be done.
Across Europe, traffic congestion costs amount to €50bn per year - 0.5 per cent of the EU's GDP, and this could double by 2010.
According to the EU, a series of innovations could put the brakes on accidents across Europe if adopted.
They are:
- If all vehicles in the EU were equipped with automatic emergency call technology by 2010, road accident fatalities could be reduced by five to 15 per cent. The system could also reduce time lost to traffic congestion by between 10 and 20 per cent, with cost savings of €2bn to €4bn.
- Autonomous Cruise Control could prevent up to 4,000 accidents per annum if just three per cent of vehicles were equipped with it by 2010.
- Systems to warn if a car is wandering out of its lane could prevent 1,500 accidents per year, even if a mere 0.6 per cent of vehicles had it installed in four years - or 14,000 accidents if take-up was more like seven per cent.
- The Awake project is developing a driver 'hypovigilance' system that wakes up drowsy drivers, and estimates its work can prevent up to 30 per cent of fatal crashes on motorways and nine per cent of all fatal crashes.
EC information society and media commissioner Viviane Reding said in a statement: "Intelligent cars can help solve our key road transport problems: safety, traffic congestion and energy consumption. But citizens and policy makers cannot be expected to invest in or to promote car safety technology unless its benefits are clear.
"This is why I call for strengthening industry and policy efforts to make intelligence through information and communication technologies an integral part of all vehicles built in Europe."
Comments
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1. Chris Goodman
A greater cause of traffic mayhem is the exceptionally poor road design in this country. We are still designing and building roads at what appears 1935 standards for 1935 traffic flow. The plea of cost is always the excuse for building the cheapest road systems possible, even though immediate bottlenecks appear and expensive improvements are soon required. Our road planners are working to academic standards imposed on them when they were trained in college or uni rather than common sense application of user needs. Roundabouts are usually built where traffic congestion is bad, but it is rare to see effective left filters to ease the congestion. Or how many centre lanes are built to allow right turning traffic to wait without causing massive tailbacks.
Planners are almost invariably the cause for failing to plan design and construction for the public needs.
2. Ian Savell
Cart before horse time again.
The target should be to stop drivers driving while unfit due to fatigue, lack of sleep or drugs, not to keep the car going when they eventually fall asleep.
These sort of "aids" increase the false sense of safety at the wheel that encourages drivers to take more risks.
3. anonymous
A lot more accidents could be prevented if freight was moved off-road and onto the railways.
it would alos make transportation much cheaper - one driver can drive one lorry, or one train with the equivalent of 100 lorries...
4. Simon
Like a lot of schemes that at first sight seem to be a good idea, I feel that the long term consequences may be negative overall. By taking away from the drivers the need to take responsibility for their actions and the need to think about what they are doing, you end up with an ever decreasing standard of driving which may negate any savings.
Most people I know think that ABS will reduce their stopping distances - false.
Too many people no think that they are 'driving safely' as long as they don't exceed some number painted on a sign - false but heavily re-inforced by the "exceed this number and you're nicked, otherwise we'll ignore you no many how badly you drive" message re-inforced by our current obsession with rigid speed limit enforcement.
5. anonymous
No need for this stuff, a device made for the British bobby already exists. Its got two bits of wire with 2 bits of glass which sits on the end of the bobbys nose and creates Vision.
This enables the bobby to see the truck travelling at 70 mph 2 foot behind the car in front which you and I have been seeing for years.
There is one drawback however. The invention called "Canteen Closed" failed to work. They probably got the name wrong, for Bobby's it should have been called "Restaurant Closed".