Road Safety
Honda demonstrates V2V communication system for motorcyclists
No matter what your skill level, being aware of what's going on around you is THE most critical safety factor for all road users - if you don't see it coming, you are in big trouble. For motorcyclists, who are simply less visible on the roads and face a much greater risk of death or serious injury in the event that an accident does occur, this factor becomes even more important. In the past, the technology dedicated to inter-vehicle communication has been limited to blowing the horn or perhaps catching a radio report of an accident up ahead, but things are changing fast. This brings us to Honda's latest innovation in the field. The company has debuted a new Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication (V2V) system aimed at reducing road casualties of both motorcyclists and car drivers which links vehicles within a defined radio range via a wireless LAN network to provide immediate access to data on vehicle location, accidents, congestion or other potential threats that lie ahead. Read More
TAG HEUER Night Vision eyeglasses for safer driving
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August 7, 2008 Driving at night is far more dangerous than driving in daylight according to the statistics. Though only 10% of road miles are driven in the dark, 48% of road fatalities occur at night. That’s primarily because at night our pupils dilate, and we become short-sighted, though glare, halos, and reduced peripheral vision all contribute to ocular tiredness. TAG Heuer has released a set of ophthalmic Night Vision glasses specifically designed to correct dark-induced myopia, reduce glare, contrast the dark blue surroundings without changing colour perception and ultimately offer safer driving after dark. Read More
Reptile friendly tunnel improves road safety for the cold blooded
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A new tunnel designed by multi-disciplinary consultancy firm Scott Wilson will allow reptiles to pass under the road at a UK airport to ensure their safety. The tunnel was created with the reptiles’ biology in mind, providing a warm and inviting space to enter using LED lighting and heating coils. Read More
Europeans buses trial road safety sensor systems
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Vehicle-based sensors that link back to centralized infrastructure are seen as a promising solution to traffic management and road safety in our increasingly clogged cites. Last year we reported on Nissan's efforts, now European researchers are trialling a similar system on buses. Read More
Tummy Shield seat belt keeps mother and baby safe
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According to a recent study by the University of Michigan, if all pregnant women wore a car seatbelt, approximately 200 fetuses could be saved each year and an estimated 370 fetuses die as a result of car crashes each year in the United States. However, stretching a seat belt across a growing abdomen is not the easiest job, nor is the belt comfortable across your tummy. A team of Australian engineers has come up with a novel seat belt especially for pregnant women. Unlike traditional seat belts which fit across the abdomen, the Tummy Shield is designed to be worn around the thighs, therefore protecting the abdomen from trauma resulting from a car collision. Read More
envisionCAM video camera, GPS and G-force Event Data Recorder
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April 29, 2008 Big brother has found his way into the company car, so leadfoot drivers beware; he sees, and remembers, and tells all. We wrote recently about the CarCam Voyager, basically a small dash videocam that acts as an infallible witness in accident situations - but the envisionCAM from Advanced EDR systems takes the concept to another level entirely. Read More
Lane departure data collection system for commercial vehicles
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March 31, 2008 Traffic management technology maker Iteris has released the first commercially available lane departure warning (LDW) data collection system for the heavy truck market. Safety Direct analyzes real-time data captured by Iteris’ LDW system and relays the information directly to fleet operators through integration with the truck’s existing fleet communications system. Read More
Intelligent brake system could reduce rear-end collisions
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March 28, 2007 Brake lights on automobiles are limited in the information they can convey - you're either stopping or you're not. Having some indication of just how hard the driver in front is pressing the pedal would undoubtedly add to road safety, and that's the thinking behind this intelligent brake light system developed by researchers at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. Read More
The self-inflating tire
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March 25, 2008 How often do you check your tire pressure? For most of us the answer is "not often enough". Gradual tire deflation over time is a key factor in relation to on-road safety and reduced fuel economy, not to mention the expensive exercise of replacing tires that wear out before the end of their expected life-span. The solution from Czech Republic based CODA DEVELOPMENT s.r.o. is to take the human out of the equation entirely with an integrated system that inflates itself using atmospheric air as you drive. Read More
Radar car collision prevention systems put to the test
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February 15, 2008 British Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre Thatcham has put three of the car industry’s most hyped collision prevention technologies to the test – and they’ve emerged with flying colors. The Volvo City Safety, Mercedes Distronic Plus, and Honda CMBS use radar systems to mitigate and prevent low speed collisions – which, as a category, make up 75% of all motor accidents. Read More
Safe Turn: the fully-automatic indicator for cyclists
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January 22, 2008 Environmental and health factors have been a catalyst for increased numbers of cyclists in metropolitan cities with bike sales exceeding that of cars in places like Australia in recent times. With more recreational and commuter cyclists sharing the roads with automobiles it follows that rider safety - and technology that enhances it - is more important than ever. The Safe Turn Indicator is a compact (40 mm/1.6 in) and lightweight (19g/0.67oz) bicycle light indicator designed to fit your glove or wrist that consists of three LEDs which flash in a similar fashion to a vehicle or motorbike indicator and emit the same orange light. Using an internal tilt switch to pick-up the change in angle rather than motion-detection, the product differentiates itself from other indicators on the market by virtue of its ability to automatically switch on when an arm is raised to execute a normal hand signal for turning and remain flashing until the arm drops back down. Read More
Car crash warning system could prevent the accident waiting to happen
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January 17 , 2008, According to the World Health Organization an estimated 1.2 million people lose their lives every year due to car accidents. With the hope of reducing that number, European researchers are developing a Collision Warning System (CWS) for cars, an early warning device which will warn drivers of dangers ahead and may give them enough time to avoid a crash. Read More
New Mercedes-Benz system warns sleepy drivers
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Alcohol and speed are rightfully targeted as major causes of road accidents, but another deadly factor - falling asleep at the wheel - is not always given the profile it deserves in developing strategies to combat the road toll. In an effort to make driving safer for both the occupants of the vehicle and their fellow road users, Mercedes-Benz is working on a system that recognizes tiredness-related changes in personal driving style and warns the driver when it's time to take a break. Now entering the final stages of development and expected to go into series production in 2009, the Attention Assist system constantly monitors typical driving patterns to establish an individual profile and makes a decision on whether the driver is becoming tired when there is deviation from this saved data. Read More
Solar powered road studs offer 10-fold visibility improvement
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November 21, 2007 As drivers we tend to ignore "cat's eyes" until we strike inclement weather or unfamiliar roads at night, at which point their safety value in showing us the road ahead comes very much to the fore. Standard reflective road studs rely on illumination from the headlight beams of the approaching vehicle and are effective to a distance of up to 90 meters, a situation that is being greatly improved by the application of solar power to the create stand-alone, self-powered illumination devices. The latest generation of solar road studs has just been announced by pioneering British company Astucia - the SolarLite™ “smart” road stud uses stored solar power to run built-in Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), providing an effective guide for drivers at up to a distance of 900 meters and extending reaction times from 3.2 to over 30 seconds when driving at 60mph. Read More
Active care safety features a top priority according to new research
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October 17, 2007 According to a new study from ABI research consumer demand is growing for active safety features in cars with technology advancing rapidly as a result. Radar- and lidar-based obstacle-detection systems continue to develop at the high end of the automobile market, and ultrasonic sensors dominate the low end. Read More
Belkin update TuneBase FM transmitter for iPods
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September 20, 2007 iPod accessories continue to multiply exponentially, and why not with over 110 million iPods sold to June 2007 according to Apple. The latest add-on to catch our attention is Belkin's updated model of its TuneBase FM transmitter which includes new Clearscan technology - a feature that automatically seeks out the clearest FM frequency through which to relay your music.
Lexus active driver safety system prevents accidents caused by innattention
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September 6, 2007 With the aim of reducing the many road accidents caused by simple inattention, Lexus has introduced an active and intelligent new driver safety system using six cameras that monitor your face as you drive. If there’s an obstacle in your path and your head’s turned the wrong way, this clever car will hit the anchors for you. The system also incorporates active headrests designed to minimize injury in the event of a rear-end collision. Read More
High-tech motorcycle training system puts learner skills under the microscope
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August 1, 2007 Those who choose to ride motorcycles, including many of us in the Gizmag team, choose to accept a higher level of risk in our daily transport than a car driver. We mitigate this risk through higher levels of attention, roadcraft and dedicated development of riding skills than are typically displayed by drivers – and rider licensing and advanced training courses are a critical part of most riders’ development as safe, confident road users. Still, rider training and testing typically focuses on fairly nebulous goals and results that give the rider very little concrete feedback on their progress or areas of weakness, so Australia’s DVExperts have come up with a device that brings a new level of hard science to the process. Their Motorcycle Operator Training Assessor (MOTA) unit is a set of sensors the size of a deck of cards that can be attached to a bike to record reaction times, acceleration, braking forces, swerving forces and lean angles to provide a very clear readout of a student’s performance in each testing or training exercise along with their levels of improvement after a day’s training. This means license testing can be brought to a new level of consistency and accountability and we suspect the MOTA’s also going to be a fun piece of equipment for the trainers themselves to play with after hours. Read More
All new Japanese Toyotas to have side-impact and curtain shield airbags
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July 24, 2007 If you don’t die as a result of age or illness, today’s sad reality is that you’re most likely to be killed in a motor vehicle accident. Car manufacturers have been working hard to reduce trauma from accidents, building in crumple zones, safety cells and driver/passenger airbags to maximise protection for the precious living cargo they carry, and these measures have been effective in reducing deaths and serious injuries in front and rear collisions. Recent figures, however, show that nearly three quarters of serious side collisions still result in head and upper body injuries – and it’s these injuries that Toyota’s latest initiative aims to combat. By fitting side-impact airbags and curtain shield airbags to all Japanese passenger cars as standard, Toyota believes it can reduce deaths from side impacts by as much as 37% - a huge step towards making the road a safer place to be. Read More
