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eSafety background paper

Promoting advanced
vehicle safety technologies
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Contents
Foreword
What is eSafety?
Key eSafety applications
Awareness campaigns
Annexes
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Foreword
There is no doubt that new intelligent vehicle
technologies have made cars safer than
ever before. Yet not enough consumers are
benetting from these life-saving systems.
This is why we need to promote and encourage
the use of vehicle safety equipment which can
help to prevent accidents and ultimately save
lives.
In Europe alone almost 40,000 people are killed in trafc every year and
more than one million injured. New cars today are much safer than they
were 10-15 years ago thanks to improved crash test standards, crumple
zones, seatbelts, and air bags which help protect occupants in a crash.
Under the latest technological developments, safety systems like Electronic
Stability Control (ESC) can prevent accidents from happening in the rst
place. If all cars in the EU used ESC it is estimated that at least 4,000 lives
a year could be saved and more than 100,000 injuries avoided.
But currently just over half of new cars in the EU are equipped with ESC.
In emerging vehicle markets like China, use of ESC is much lower and an
even greater challenge is to increase awareness of the safety potential of
such eSafety technologies.
This is why eSafetyAware is focused on increasing public awareness and
supporting the deployment of these life saving systems.
Our rst awareness campaign ChooseESC!, which was funded by the
European Commission and FIA Foundation, has had a major impact in
increasing the use of this technology. Other eSafety technologies such
as Blind Spot Monitoring and Advanced Emergency Braking hold similar
life-saving potential.
As President of eSafetyAware I am committed to promoting the wide-
spread use of eSafety technologies on our roads and in doing so to help
prevent lives being lost in vehicle accidents worldwide.
Jean Todt
President, eSafetyAware
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eSafety Functions Summary
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) helps to avoid a crash by signicantly reducing the
risk of your car going into a skid during a sudden emergency manoeuvre such as avoiding
an obstacle in front of you. ESC identies this risk early and stabilises the car by braking
individual wheels.
Benets: ESC could save yearly up to 4000 lives in Europe alone
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Warning and Emergency Braking Systems detect at an early stage the danger of an
accident with the vehicle in front of you. In the case of a potential collision, they warn you
about the danger, and when there is no reaction to the warning, the technologies activate
the brakes together with systems such as seatbelt pretension to avoid or mitigate a crash.
Benets: 28% less rear-end collisions with personal injury
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Blind Spot Monitoring helps you avoid a crash with a vehicle in the lane next to you by
continuously screening the blind spots to the side of your vehicle.
Benets: 8% less accidents when changing lanes on motorways
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Lane Support Systems can assist and warn you when you unintentionally leave the road
lane or when you change lanes without indication. Sometimes a moment of inattention
is enough to make your vehicle stray from its lane. The systems monitor the position
of the vehicle in the road lane and while Lane Departure Warning warns you if the car
unintentionally wanders from the path, Lane Keeping Support helps you correct the
course of your car.
Benets: 15% less deaths on European roads
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Speed Alert helps you keep the correct speed and avoid speed related trafc crashes
and speeding. Speed Alert informs you about the speed limits and tells you when you are
about to exceed them.
Benets: 20% fewer injuries in urban areas
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Institute for Transport Economics at University of Cologne, ESC Cost Benet Study, 2007
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Study by German Insurance Association (GDV), Demonstration von Notbrems und Auffahrwarn systemen am PKW, 2009
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Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Crash Avoidance Potential of Five Vehicle Technologies, 2008
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eIMPACT, Impact Assessment of Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems, 2008
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Swedish Road Administration, Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA)- Results of large-scale trials, 2002
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What is eSafety?
The term eSafety arose following a joint industry-public sector initiative to
improve road safety by using new Information Communication Technologies
(ICT). The objective of the initiative was to build a strategy that accelerated
research and development, deployment and use of Advanced Driver
Assistance Systems (ADAS). The need for such a strategy was backed
by research showing that 90-95% of road accidents have an element of
human error, and if tted in vehicles, ADAS would help prevent or correct
some of these errors.
As the activities of the eSafety initiative intensied, ADAS came to be known
as eSafety technologies. Since then, eSafety has come to encompass all
vehicle-based electronic safety systems which can improve road safety
through risk exposure reduction, crash avoidance, injury and death
reduction. eSafety takes an integrated approach: interactions between the
driver, the vehicle and the road environment are addressed together in the
effort to increase road safety; all three of these factors are equally important
in tackling the high number of deaths and injuries on roads worldwide.
After many years of successful development, passive safety systems such
as seat belts and airbags have achieved a high penetration in cars. eSafety
involves crash avoidance technologies that protect car occupants by
informing, advising and alerting the driver about dangerous situations and
by assisting him/her to avoid the accident.
To date, support for eSafety has focused on the deployment of Electronic
Stability Control (ESC). ESC was introduced in passenger cars in 1995 and
initially had a low take up rate. However, recently countries around the
world have decided to make ESC mandatory and to support this, the UN
created a global technical regulation which can easily be translated into
national law.
Beyond ESC, other eSafety systems could also have an important impact
on road safety, but still suffer from low installation rates. Though ESC market
wide deployment is being achieved through legislation, it is important to
recognise that market deployment could be achieved for other eSafety
technologies by addressing the elements that hamper their take up: lack of
consumer information, lack of availability in small and medium sized cars,
and the high market price.
eSafety technologies can not only decrease the number of injuries and
deaths but can also have signicant positive economic impact on society.
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Key eSafety Applications
Among the numerous eSafety technologies that exist on the market,
eSafetyAware! is focusing on ve that offer signicant potential benets
and are already at an advanced stage of development: Electronic Stability
Control (ESC), Warning and Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Monitoring,
Lane Support Systems and Speed Alert. These systems exist under
different names and exhibit minor differences in functionality depending on
the manufacturer.
1 Electronic Stability Control
ESC was rst introduced in passenger cars in 1995 and it has been
hailed by manufacturers, suppliers and road safety advocates as the most
important safety technology since the seat belt. With skidding being the
main cause of trafc accidents that result in serious injuries or deaths,
this anti-rollover and anti-skid technology senses when the driver is losing
control of the car and autonomously applies braking pressure to individual
wheels to help stabilise the vehicle.
How does ESC work?
ESC integrates Anti Lock Braking (ABS) and Traction Control System (TCS)
with the added feature of a yaw torque control, a function that prevents
skidding. It is designed to help drivers maintain control of their vehicles in the
event of sudden manoeuvres such as rapid steering and countersteering,
sudden lane changes, and obstacle-avoidance manoeuvres.
ESC compares 25 times a second whether the drivers steering corresponds
to the actual direction in which the vehicle is moving.
If the vehicle moves in a different direction understeering or over steering
ESC detects the situation and reacts accordingly. It uses the vehicles brakes
as a tool for steering the vehicle back on track. Specic braking is applied
to individual wheels, such as the inner rear wheel to counter under-steer,
or the outer front wheel during over-
steer. This selective braking generates
a counter balance force enabling the
car to react in line with the steering and
as the driver intends. To fully optimise
stability, ESC not only initiates braking
but can also act on the engine side
to decelerate the driven wheels. ESC
substantially reduces the complexity of
the steering process and lessens the
demands placed on the driver.
Benefts
ESC is a prime example of how crash
avoidance systems can greatly reduce
casualties. Various studies on the
impact of ESC have shown the potential
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that this system has in reducing the number of fatalities and injuries. It is
estimated that in US alone 10,000 lives could be saved and 240,000 injuries
can be avoided per annum, while in Canada these gures amount to 255
deaths and 1,440 injuries. In Australia, ESC would be able to decrease the
number of deaths in crashes involving light vehicles by 29% and in Japan
this reduction could be as high as 35% in single vehicle crashes.
An impact assessment in Europe showed that 4,000 lives could be saved
each year and 100,000 injuries could be avoided if all cars were equipped
with ESC. A cost-benet analysis made by the Institute for Transport
Economics, University of Cologne indicated that for every euro invested in
ESC society would save between 3.5 and 5.8, which translates into a net
benet of 10 billion to 16 billion per annum for a full ESC penetration rate
in Europe. These calculations show that not only would the global impact
of ESC be considerable in reducing the number of road accident victims,
but that there is also a clear economic benet associated with ESC as well.
ESC actions around the world
On 26 June 2008 the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations (WP29) approved a global technical regulation (GTR) for ESC.
In establishing the regulation, the UN Forum took into account international
safety concerns as well as available technological developments. The GTR
addresses the needs for standard specications on ESC and its testing
procedures, and provides an indication of the costs and benets of the
system. The GTR will translate into the ECE regulation ECE R 13 H and
will be available to transpose for any national authorities across the world
planning to introduce ESC regulations in their own country.
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US
In 2007, the US government approved the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard No. 126 making ESC mandatory in all new US light vehicles up
to 4.5 tons, sold in the US market from 1 September 2011. The National
Highway Trafc Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that ESC will:
Reduce single vehicle crashes by 34% and single vehicle crashes of sport
utility vehicles (SUVs) by 59%;
Reduce passenger car rollovers by 71% and that of SUVs by 84%;
Save 5,300 to 9,600 lives and prevent 156,000 to 238,000 injuries in all
types of crashes annually if all light vehicles on US roads are equipped with
ESC.
Europe
In the European Union, the Regulation No 661/2009 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 makes ESC mandatory.
According to the regulation, from November 2011 all new passenger cars
and commercial vehicle models registered in the European Union will have to
be equipped with ESC. From November 2014 this will then apply to all new
vehicles including old models. The impact assessment that accompanied
the Commissions proposal concluded that relying on market forces alone
was unlikely to achieve full eet penetration, justifying the regulation.
Recognising the importance of the system, the European New Car
Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) decided on 5 November 2008
to include ESC on its list of safety requirements necessary for a car to
receive its highest ve star rating. This decision was made as part of the
organisations new rating system, which included the assessment of driver
assistance systems and active safety technologies. EuroNCAPs decision
is recognition of the important role active safety systems such as ESC can
play in making cars safer.
Australia
In June 2009, the federal government announced that ESC would become
mandatory on all new models of passenger vehicles from November 2011
and all models from November 2013. The regulation is part of the National
Road Safety Action Plan for 2009 and 2010 and it is seen as playing an
important role in the effort to reduce the number of road deaths in Australia.
In addition to this proposal, the Action Plan identies the government as
an important actor in taking the necessary steps to encourage consumers
to purchase ESC equipped cars. In January 2008, the Australian New Car
Assessment Programme (ANCAP) was the rst NCAP to award the highest
ve star ranking only to cars that are equipped with ESC.
Canada
Canada has followed in the steps of the US by proposing a regulation which
requires the installation of ESC as standard equipment on all new vehicles
up to 4.5 tons made for sale in Canada from September 2011. In addition,
Canada has chosen to support a rapid take-up of ESC through educational
and promotional campaigns. Such a campaign was launched in October
2008 by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) with support from
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the FIA Foundation. As part of the campaign, Transport Canada has asked
manufacturers to distribute ESC promotional material through advertising,
car dealers and promotional events.
ESC installation rates worldwide
In 2008, only a third of the worldwide production of passenger cars and light
commercial vehicles up to 6 tons were equipped with ESC. By 2012, it is
estimated that every other vehicle will have ESC on board. The acceleration
of ESC installation has been strongly inuenced by the regulatory actions in
US, Europe, Canada and Australia, and also the growth in ESC take-up in
China, which is increasingly substituting ABS for ESC.
2 Warning and Emergency Braking
The Warning and Emergency Braking system brings together a number
of technologies such as forward collision warning systems, automatic
braking and pre-crash safety systems. The system detects, at an early
stage, the danger of an imminent rear-end collision, warns the driver about
the danger and assists the driver with braking. If there is no reaction from
the driver the system activates the brakes automatically together with
systems such as seatbelt pretension to avoid or lessen the intensity of the
crash.
ESC installation rates worldwide
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How does Warning and Emergency Braking work?
The systems found on the market vary slightly, but most include:
Collision warning
A surround (radar) sensor in the vehicle recognise the danger of a collision
based on the distance to the obstacle ahead and the speed. When the
systems sensor detects that a collision is
imminent it issues both audio and visual
warnings to the driver. Some systems also
include a brake jerk.
Emergency Braking Assist and secondary
warning
If the driver reacts by applying the brake, the
system interprets this action as an emergency
braking and provides maximized braking
support by boosting the brake pressure to the
optimum to assure that the vehicle stops and
avoids the collision. Some variations of the
system include haptic feedback in the seat belt
or the steering wheel.
Collision mitigation
If the system detects that the collision is unavoidable, the vehicles seatbelts
retract with enough force to compensate for seatbelt slack and offer
passengers maximum protection in advance of the collision. At the same
time the system applies automatic braking pressure to the vehicle to reduce
its speed and minimise the impact of the collision.
Benefts
Studies show that more deaths occur from rear-end crashes than any other
kind. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has estimated that
the Forward Collision Warning function with Automatic Braking alone could
be relevant for around 2,268,000 accidents every year in the US, of which
7,166 are fatal.
In Europe, an impact assessment released by the European Commission
estimates the benets of Advanced Emergency Braking for different vehicle
categories and different functionalities. The results of the assessment are
summarised in table 1 (see next page).
In the assessment, Current systems are dened as systems that are
effective in rear end collisions with vehicles with four or more wheels and
collisions with rigid xed objects on the carriageway. Near future systems
also include collisions with rigid xed objects off the carriageway and with
pedestrians. Longer term systems are expected to add functionality in
head-on collisions and front to side collisions at junctions.
Supportive Actions
In the European Union, the Regulation No 661/2009 of European Parliament
Area monitored by Warning
and Emergency Braking
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and the Council mandating the introduction of ESC as standard, also
stipulates the standard tment of Advanced Emergency Braking System
(AEBS) in all new vehicles types M2, M3, N2, N3 meaning commercial
vehicles above 3.5 tons and buses as per November 2013. All vehicles from
the aforementioned categories sold in the European Union from November
2015 will have to be tted with AEBS.
3 Blind Spot Monitoring
This system helps drivers to avoid a crash with a vehicle in the neighbouring
lane by continuously screening the blind spots to the side of the vehicles.
The blind spot is the area not covered by the drivers line of sight and
mirrors, alongside and off-set to the rear of the moving car on both sides.
This is a particularly dangerous hazard when changing lanes on a multi-lane
road. The Blind Spot Monitoring system has an informative role and does
not intervene.
How does Blind Spot Monitoring work?
Blind Spot Monitoring uses radar, camera or ultrasonic technologies to
monitor the blind spot area of the vehicle. If a
moving object is detected within the specied
zone, a warning signal is issued. Warning
signals vary from one version of the system
to another and include visual, audio or haptic
signals.
Some of the systems are able to recognise
both regular sized vehicles (cars and trucks)
and motorcycles in both daylight and night-
time driving conditions. The different versions
of the system are able to recognise the
obstacles at different speed conditions. To
give an example, one such system is active
at all speeds above 10 km/h. It is designed
to alert the driver about vehicles moving at a maximum of 20 km/h slower
and a maximum of 70 km/h faster than the drivers own vehicle.
Vehicle class the system is ftted in
System generation
Current Near future Longer term
8 seat plus driver seat passenger carriers vehicles (M1) 313-1,149 2,043-7,489 1,349-4,946
Passenger carrier vehicles with more than 8 seats under (M2)
/or exceeding 5 tons (M3)
4-14 96-351 55-202
Vehicles for goods transportation not exceeding 3.5 tons (N1) 44-160 148-543 185-681
Vehicles for goods transportation exceeding 3.5 tons and under
12 tons (N2) or exceeding 12 tons (N3)
102-372 180-659 319-1,170
Buses (L) 618-2,265
Table 1: Number of fatalities
avoided each year with Advanced
Emergency Braking System
Areas monitored by the Blind
Spot Monitoring System
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Benefts
At a European level, the benets of the system have been studied in
the eIMPACT project funded by the European Commission. The project
analysed an extended function of the Blind Spot Monitoring system known
as Lane Change Assist which monitors the lateral and rear area of the
vehicle, assisting the driver when changing lanes. It is estimated that in
Europe the system could save approximately 975 lives each year and avoid
2,100 injuries if all cars were equipped with the system.
In the US, the IIHS has estimated that the Blind Spot Monitoring system
could be relevant in more than 457,000 accidents every year, of which 428
are fatal.
4 Lane Support Systems
Lane Support Systems monitor the upcoming road markings and the
position of the vehicle within the road lane. While Lane Departure Warning
warns the driver if the vehicle is unintentionally leaving the lane, Lane
Keeping Support goes beyond a simple warning by assisting the driver with
an active steering support to keep in the lane. By doing so, both systems
give the driver time to correct the vehicles trajectory before an accident
happens.
How do Lane Support Systems work?
Lane Departure Warning uses the road marking to identify the position of
the vehicle in the lane. If the vehicle crosses the lane markings without
signalling, the system issues a visual, acoustic or haptic warning. The
system uses various sensors or a camera to detect the road markings and
it is active only above a minimum speed. The system is intended to operate
on roads with good markings, and can if wanted be switched off by the
driver.
Lane Keep Support identies the position of the vehicle in the lane by using
the road markings. In addition to issuing a warning, the Lane Keep Support
will assist the driver with steering support; some versions of the system
will even steer through motorway bends. The system works both during
the day and also at night. However, the technology has been designed to
ensure that the driver always remains in control, easily being overridden and
automatically shutting down if it detects that the driver does not have his
hands on the wheel.
Benefts
The European Commission funded project eIMPACT estimated that if all
vehicles in Europe were equipped with the Lane Keep Assist system, the
number of deaths would decrease by 15% and the number of injuries by
8.9%. Given todays number of deaths in Europe this would represent 6,300
lives saved each year.
The impact assessment study that accompanied the European Commission
regulatory proposal COM(2008) 316 which included stipulations for Lane
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Departure Warning (LDW), has studied the benets of the system together
with the Lane Change Assist(LCA) which is an extended functionality of Blind
Spot Monitoring. It has been found that if all vehicles in Europe were tted
with LDW and LCA, 5,500 deaths, 30,800 serious injuries, and 208,500
minor injuries would be avoided.
In the US, the IIHS estimates that the Lane Departure Warning system
could help in approximately 483,000 accidents every year, of which 10,345
are fatal.
Supportive actions
In Europe, the Regulation No 661/2009 of European Parliament and of the
Council of 13 July 2009 mandating the introduction of ESC and Advanced
Emergency Braking System (AEBS), stipulates also the standard tment
of Lane Departure Warning in the same vehicle categories and with the
same deadlines as AEBS. The system is expected to be equipped in all
new vehicles types M2, M3, N2, N3 meaning commercial vehicles above
3.5 tons and buses as per November 2013 and in all vehicles from those
categories sold in the European Union from November 2015.
5 Speed Alert
Speed alert helps drivers maintain a correct speed, avoid speeding, and
prevent speed related accidents. Speed Alert informs the driver about the
speed limit of the road he/she is using and issues a warning when the driver
is about to exceed them.
How does Speed Alert work?
The system uses a camera to distinguish
speed signs on the road and also receives
speed limit information from a navigation
system. In this way it ensures that even speed
limits that are not explicitly visible, i.e. within a
city, will be displayed to the driver. Both sets of
data are then compared with the speed of the
vehicle. If the speed of the vehicle is exceeding
the limit a warning is issued.
Benefts
The European Commission funded project eIMPACT estimated the Speed
Alert system could reduce the number of fatalities in Europe by 8.7% and
the number of injuries by 6.2% each year if all cars were to be equipped
with the system. Given the current number of deaths at European level, this
could translate into 3,690 lives saved each year.
The largest study so far on Speed Alert systems was carried out in Sweden.
The study involved 5,000 equipped vehicles driven by more than 10,000
drivers from different age groups, and an accident analysis. It was estimated
that with all cars equipped there would be 20% fewer injuries in Swedish
urban areas each year.
Area monitored by the Speed
Alert system
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Awareness Campaigns
Despite a number of studies showing that consumers rate safety as their
primary concern, the take-up of eSafety technologies has been slow.
Market penetration remains low in many countries, especially in lower
vehicle classes, where all too often, it is the small family car and super mini
classes which are missing out on the extra safety equipment.
It has become clear that although concerned about safety, consumers lack
the key information about the existence of these technologies. Given their
benets to road safety, there is a clear need to accelerate the use of eSafety
systems in all motor vehicle classes in all major world markets, by breaking
down the current knowledge barriers.
In 2007, eSafetyAware! was founded with the specic aim to raise awareness
of eSafety among end users. The organisation brings together 37 members
from industry, public authorities, motoring clubs and other organisations.
ChooseESC!
eSafetyAware! launched the ChooseESC! campaign in May 2007 to
inform car buyers about the benets of ESC. During the launch, European
Commissioner Viviane Reding and FIA President Max Mosley collectively
called for measures to advance the ESC take-up and save up to 4,000 lives
annually on European Roads alone. Since the launch, some of the worlds
best drivers have actively supported the campaign, including seven-time
Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, ve-time FIA World
Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb as well as Formula One drivers like Pedro
de la Rosa and Marko Asmer. The campaign has also enjoyed support from
prominent gures such as Prince Michael of Kent and several Members of
the European Parliament.
Campaign website:
www.chooseesc.eu
eSafety Challenge and eSafety On Board
The two activities, targeting different stakeholder groups, were launched in
April 2009 and are being run in parallel. While the eSafety Challenge brings
the eSafety message to key decision makers as well as specialised and
general media, the eSafety On Board activities inform car buyers about the
existence and benets of the safety technologies. The systems supported
by the activities are: Electronic Stability Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane
Keep Support Systems, Warning and Emergency Braking Systems and
Speed Alert. The eSafety Challenge activities will continue in the coming
years and are co-funded by the European Commission and FIA Foundation.
Campaign websites:
www.esafetychallenge.eu and www.eSafetyOnBoard.eu
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