European Side-markers Effect on Traffic Safety

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Straight intersecting path or “side” collisions account for 12% of all motor vehicle crashes and 24% of fatalities. While previous research has examined driver responses to hazards striking from the right (near side), no research has quantified driver responses to hazards striking from the left (far side) of an intersection. The purpose of this study was to measure driver response time (DRT) and response choice for two versions of this scenario. In one condition, the hazard vehicle was initially stopped at the intersection before accelerating into the path of the participant driver. In the other condition, the hazard vehicle approached and entered the intersection while moving at a constant speed of 50 km/h.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Testing was conducted using an Oktal full car driving simulator. 107 licenced drivers (N<sub>Female</sub> = 57, N<sub>Male</sub> = 50) completed a short familiarization drive followed by the experimental drive in which they encountered both the initially stopped and moving conditions of the straight path hazard, in a counterbalanced order. DRT was defined as the time between when the hazard vehicle crossed a trigger located two meters from the curb until the driver reacted either by touching the brake pedal or swerving.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The average DRT was 0.08 seconds in the initially moving hazard condition and 2.39 seconds in the stopped condition. In the moving condition, many participants were able to anticipate the hazard before it crossed the defined starting location. To account for the more obvious hazard precursor in the moving condition, a geographic location further from the intersection is proposed as the starting location for measuring DRT in gradually developing hazard scenarios. There was also a significant difference in DRT (F (2) = 5.55, p = 0.005) based on the avoidance action taken. Drivers who braked and steered had the longest response times and they were also more likely to get into a collision.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper compares the results from three human factors studies conducted in a motion-based simulator in 2008, 2014 and 2023, to highlight the trends in driver's response to Forward Collision Warning (FCW). The studies were motivated by the goal to develop an effective HMI (Human-Machine Interface) strategy that enables the required driver's response to FCW while minimizing the level of annoyance of the feature. All three studies evaluated driver response to a baseline-FCW and no-FCW conditions. Additionally, the 2023 study included two modified FCW chime variants: a softer FCW chime and a fading FCW chime. Sixteen (16) participants, balanced for gender and age, were tested for each group in all iterations of the studies. The participants drove in a high-fidelity simulator with a visual distraction task (number reading). After driving 15 minutes in a nighttime rural highway environment, a surprise forward collision threat arose during the distraction task. The response times from the FCW event were recorded and analyzed. The results indicated no statistically significant difference in driver response times between the baseline-FCW condition and the two new variants of the 2023 study. However, a trend of longer driver response times was seen when comparing the results from 2023 study to previous studies. First, the median response times for the baseline-FCW group increased from 2008 to 2023 by about 0.25s. Furthermore, in the 2008 study, a few cautious drivers in the control group had reacted even before the distraction task had finished. However, in the 2023 study, all participants only reacted after the distraction task had finished. Finally, there was a statistically significant difference between the 2023 fading-FCW chime variant and the 2008 baseline-FCW. All of this indicates that drivers are likely becoming more complacent to warnings and are less situationally aware due to distraction from non-driving activities.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This Recommended Practice provides a taxonomy for motor vehicle <i>driving automation systems</i> that perform part or all of the <i>dynamic driving task</i> (<i>DDT</i>) on a <i>sustained</i> basis and that range in level from <i>no driving automation</i> (level 0) to <i>full driving automation</i> (level 5). It provides detailed definitions for these six levels of <i>driving automation</i> in the context of <i>motor vehicles</i> (hereafter also referred to as “<i>vehicle</i>” or “<i>vehicles</i>”) and their <i>operation</i> on roadways. These level definitions, along with additional supporting terms and definitions provided herein, can be used to describe the full range of <i>driving automation features</i> equipped on <i>motor vehicles</i> in a functionally consistent and coherent manner. “On-road” refers to publicly accessible roadways (including parking areas and private campuses that permit public access) that collectively serve users of <i>vehicles</i> of all classes and <i>driving automation</i> levels (including no <i>driving automation</i>), as well as motorcyclists, pedal cyclists, and pedestrians.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The levels apply to the <i>driving automation feature(s)</i> that are engaged in any given instance of on-road <i>operation</i> of an equipped <i>vehicle</i>. As such, although a given <i>vehicle</i> may be equipped with a <i>driving automation system</i> that is capable of delivering multiple <i>driving automation features</i> that perform at different levels, the level of <i>driving automation</i> exhibited in any given instance is determined by the <i>feature(s)</i> that are engaged.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This document also refers to three primary actors in <i>driving</i>: the (human) <i>driver</i>, the <i>driving automation system</i>, and other <i>vehicle</i> systems and components. These other <i>vehicle</i> systems (or the <i>vehicle</i> in general terms) do not include the <i>driving automation system</i> in this model, even though as a practical matter a <i>driving automation system</i> may actually share hardware and software components with other <i>vehicle</i> systems, such as a processing module(s) or operating code.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The levels of <i>driving automation</i> are defined by reference to the specific role played by each of the three primary actors in performance of the <i>DDT</i>. “Role” in this context refers to the expected role of a given primary actor, based on the design of the <i>driving automation system</i> in question and not necessarily to the actual performance of a given primary actor. For example, a <i>driver</i> who fails to <i>monitor</i> the roadway during engagement of a level 1 adaptive cruise control (ACC) system still has the role of <i>driver</i>, even while s/he is neglecting it.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><i>Active safety systems</i>, such as electronic stability control and automated emergency braking, and certain types of driver assistance systems, such as lane keeping assistance, are excluded from the scope of this <i>driving automation</i> taxonomy because they do not perform part or all of the <i>DDT</i> on a <i>sustained</i> basis and, rather, merely provide momentary intervention during potentially hazardous situations. Due to the momentary nature of the actions of <i>active safety systems</i>, their intervention does not change or eliminate the role of the <i>driver</i> in performing part or all of the <i>DDT,</i> and thus are not considered to be <i>driving automation</i>.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">It should, however, be noted that crash avoidance features, including intervention-type <i>active safety systems</i>, may be included in <i>vehicles</i> equipped with <i>driving automation systems</i> at any level. For <i>ADS</i>-equipped <i>vehicles</i> (i.e., levels 3-5) that perform the complete <i>DDT</i>, crash avoidance capability is part of <i>ADS</i> functionality.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper describes a navigation System for private automobiles.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This system shows the accurate position of the vehicle on a CRT map display and also displays useful Information such as the locations of hotels, golf clubs, etc.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A sophisticated map matching method is employed to find the vehicle's position. In this method, a set of correlation coefficients between the locus and the mapped roads is used to determine the vehicle's location statistically. A unique automatic calibration function is also added to the magnetic field sensor to compensate for malfunctioning and detection errors caused by distortion due to the earth's magnetism and to magnetization of the vehicle at points of high field density such as railroad crossings.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">In this system, we can see the current position of the vehicle indicated by a pointer on the smooth scrolling map display.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This digital map has scales of 1/25,000, 1/100,000 and 1/400,000 and covers all of Japan with two available display modes: “north up” and “heading up”.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This system also shows the direction and distance to whatever destination the user has chosen.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This navigation system has been installed in Nissan's 1989 Cedric/Gloria and Cima models.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper presents the methodology and initial results of an effectiveness estimation effort applied to lane change crash avoidance systems. The lane change maneuver was considered to be composed of a decision phase and an execution phase. The decision phase begins when the driver desires to perform a lane change. It continues until the driver turns the handwheel to move the vehicle laterally into the new lane or until the driver decides to postpone the lane change. During the decision phase, the driver gathers information about the road scene ahead and either present or upcoming traffic or obstacles in the destination lane. The execution phase begins when the driver starts the move into the new lane and continues until the vehicle has been laterally stabilized in the destination lane. If the driver aborts the lane change once started, the maneuver execution phase concludes when the vehicle has been laterally stabilized in the original lane. CAS technology may help both phases of a lane change but the focus of this paper was on modeling the potential effectiveness of a lane change CAS to assist the driver during the decision phase.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Since the decision phase, by definition, involves no lateral motion yet occurring, kinematic or dynamical modeling approaches were not applicable. Therefore, principles from reliability theory were applied to estimate potential lane change CAS effectiveness. This method included identification of several prototypical driver-CAS interaction modes (driver-only, CAS-only, driver-&-CAS in series, driver-&-CAS in parallel), characterization of their impact on driver reliability with the CAS, and derivations of estimates for each of the different model parameters. Finally, the model and parameter estimates were applied to develop preliminary estimates of lane change CAS effectiveness in terms of the percentage of crashes avoided.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The results obtained are based on lane change crash statistics, preliminary functional specifications on CAS reliability, lane change or side-CAS usage patterns from an on-road study with truck drivers, and numerous assumptions were data are lacking. The potential effectiveness estimates span a range of from 8% to 68% of all lane change crashes avoided with an average of 37 % of all lane change crashes potentially avoided. The paper concludes with a discussion of the many caveats and research issues uncovered by this modeling exercise.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has developed its Light Vehicle Antilock Brake Systems (ABS) Research Program in an effort to determine the cause (s) of the apparent increase in fatal single-vehicle run-off-road crashes as vehicles undergo a transition from conventional brakes to ABS. As part of this program, NHTSA conducted research examining driver crash avoidance behavior and the effects of ABS on drivers’ ability to avoid a collision in a crash-imminent situation. The study described here was conducted on the Iowa Driving Simulator and examined the effects of ABS versus conventional brakes, speed limit, ABS instruction, and time-to-intersection (TTI) on driver behavior and crash avoidance performance. This study found that average, alert drivers do tend to brake and steer in realistic crash avoidance situations and that excessive steering can occur. However, this behavior did not result in a significant number of road departures.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">A large percentage of on-highway tractors today have air suspensions. Air suspensions require some type of control system to adjust the ride height. This system is usually referred to as a Load Leveling System. These systems come in a variety of different configurations but all basically have the same functions. When designed correctly, the system can reduce driveline vibration, reduce air consumption (improving compressor life and fuel efficiency), provide an accurate 5<sup>th</sup> wheel height and improve the ride quality.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper explores how the characteristics of the leveling system affect the roll stability. One and Two-valve systems are considered, as well as, the position of the valve, response times, valve deadband and the systems response to an off-center load.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Notably not every conceivable condition has been considered. The situations chosen for analysis are meant to provide an overview of how the characteristics of the leveling system can have an influence on the rollover threashold. The fact that some of the situations may suggest one leveling system configuration has a better performance than another is not sufficient to conclude that that system is universally better than the other system in practical applications.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">With that said, the results of the analysis do suggest that under specific conditions, certain configurations may have some influence on the rollover threashold. When the vehicle is loaded correctly and the slow response of the valve and valve deadband are considered, the one-valve system used by most OEMs today results in slightly better rollover threashold than a two valve system. If the response times of the valves are ignored or the duration of the roll event lasts a substantial amount of time, the two-valve system provides a slightly better result.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">If the cargo is loaded significantly away from the center of the vehicle track, a two-valve system will provide a better rollover threashold. However, the two-valve system may hide the problem from the driver where a one-valve system would allow the initial roll angle of the chassis to be non-zero, increasing the odds that the off-center load will be detected and corrected. The lateral position of the leveling valve will very slightly have an influence on the system. A system that is design not to change the air volume during roll conditions would be preferred if packaging allows this configuration. Overall, the contribution of this parameter is minimal even ignoring the slow response of the leveling system.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this study an attempt to understand and demonstrate the effects of various washcoat technologies under active and passive regeneration conditions was performed. Six different formulations, on 1.0" D. x 3.0" L. SiC wall flow filters at the laboratory level were used at various test conditions, including variable NO₂/NO</div><div class="htmlview paragraph"> ratios and O₂ concentrations. Samples were regenerated using active and passive conditions to evaluate regeneration rates and the potential impact of regeneration at the vehicle level. Results were applied to vehicle operating conditions to determine passive functionality and potential benefits. Active regenerations at 2% O₂ and 5% O₂ showed no significant difference in time to complete regeneration and soot burn rates. Active regenerations performed at 1% O₂ and 5% O₂ concentration showed that the regeneration temperature was shifted by approximately 50°C. Active soot burn rates were mainly governed by the higher inlet temperature and showed minor differences between Pt-containing washcoats and non-Pt-containing samples. Pt-containing samples provided a much cleaner reaction in that even a low loading of Pt converted ≻ 99% of the soot to CO₂. The Pd-only washcoat also was able to achieve mostly CO₂ as a product. For both non-PGM-containing washcoats and blank substrate there was a 60:40 ratio of CO:CO₂. Overall, a Cu/zeolite-containing sample showed similar results to the blank substrate, in that the regeneration capability was approximately equal to a blank substrate. The significant difference was observed when comparing the soot burn rates from the low- and high-soot-loaded samples. As the soot loading was nearly doubled for each sample the soot burn rate increased by nearly the same value under active conditions only. Comparing the passive regeneration rates for the different cases, the 0.5 blend of NO₂/NO</div><div class="htmlview paragraph"> was on average 2.5 faster then what was observed for the standard or lower NO₂/NO</div><div class="htmlview paragraph"> ratio of 0.15. Results show that if operating in an appropriate temperature range with an inadequate amount of NO₂, the Pt-containing DPF can produce NO₂ from NO and improve the burn rate of the soot to a small degree. Increasing O₂ concentration in exhaust stream and holding the NO only concentration at the inlet led to an increase in NO₂ production for Pt-containing samples. The formation of HNCO was observed over soot-loaded filters containing no washcoat. The HNCO formation resulted from the reaction of gas phase NH₃ and CO generated from the partial oxidation of soot. The presence of NO₂ assisted in increasing the formation HNCO at lower temperatures. One must account for CO, CO₂, and HNCO when calculating the regeneration rate of soot-loaded filters containing no catalyst washcoat.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Alcohol plays an important role in the causation of road traffic accidents. Based on a short description of the pharmacology of ethanol and some general data of alcohol consumption in the world, the relation between alcohol and road traffic will be discussed. In the last chapter the accident statistics in the Federal Republic of Germany are described in more detail.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper is based on the following earlier publications of the authors which are updated <ul class="list disc"> <li class="list-item"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Alcohol and Drugs - use and control. Seminar “Transport Safety in Developing Countries”. Amalfi, 1984.</div></li> <li class="list-item"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Drinking and Driving - Data and Measures in the Federal Republic of Germany. Symposium on Alcohol and Traffic Safety, Cologne, 1982.</div></li> </ul></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Recently, diesel engine manufacturers have been improving the tolerance of fuel injection quantity and timing in response to the strengthening of emissions regulations and the introduction of various kinds of diesel fuels. This paper describes the Intelligent Accuracy Refinement Technology (i-ART) system, which has been developed as a way of achieving substantially improved tolerances.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The i-ART system consists of a fuel pressure sensor installed in the injectors. It calculates the injection quantity and timing at high speed using a dedicated microcomputer designed for pressure waveform analysis. As the injector can directly measure the fuel injection pressure waveform for each injection, it can compensate the injection quantity and timing tolerance at any time.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Toyota Motor Corporation has introduced this system in Brazilian market vehicles. In Brazil, the PROCONVE L6 emissions regulations will be introduced in 2012, and the market also uses various kinds of diesel fuels. The i-ART system enables diesel engines to satisfy these new regulations, and drastically improves fuel consumption by adopting a low compression ratio and 3-pilot injection control. A cetane number detection control has also been developed using the i-ART system characteristics. As a result, even if a vehicle is driven using low or high cetane number diesel fuel, the same level of combustion noise is achieved by adjusting the engine calibration based on the detected cetane number. Engines equipped with this system have successfully passed the new emissions regulations and are compatible with the various kinds of diesel fuels used in Brazil.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Accident cases involving cars without head restraints are compared with cars having this device to evaluate the effectiveness of head restraints, their position when impact occurred and to provide some details concerning the relationship between occupant position, seat back damage and cervical injury. A reduction in non-dangerous cervical injury was associated with the head restraint group. However, due to small numbers this could not be confirmed, statistically.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Approximately 73 percent of the adjustable head rests were in their lowest position. The position of the occupant on the seat strongly influenced injury. Larger amounts of rearward rotation of the seat back were associated with lower injury severity than limited rotation.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Injuries to the cervical region resulting from automobile accidents have been the subject of a number of research reports. Concern over these injuries culminated in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 202 which requires that a head restraint be provided for front seat occupants of cars manufactured since 1 January 1969.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The term most commonly associated with neck injuries observed in rear impact accidents is “whiplash.” Although the term has been derided by many authors as describing an injury mechanism and not a diagnosis, it continues to have widespread usage. The injury it is intended to describe results from hyperextension or hyperflexion of the neck as the head rotates to the rear in a rear end collision. The resulting injury may range from pain or simple muscular sprains to torn ligaments, cervical fractures or dislocations, or combinations of these injuries.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A report by Kihlberg<sup><span class="xref">1</span></sup> indicated that neck injury was more frequent among front seat passengers than among rear seat passengers in the same car, and that the frequency of driver's injuries did not differ substantially from that of their rear passengers. Seat back damage, i. e., rearward bending of the seat, was associated with a lower frequency of neck injury to the occupant although this damage usually occurred in the more severe accidents. Kihlberg also found that the frequency of neck injury did not appear to be related to the height of the occupants, possibly because the top of the seat back is lower than the neck and shoulder area for most adults. Interestingly enough, neck injury was up to twice as frequent among women as among men. No explanation was found for this difference but it was hypothesized that the neck structure of women might not be as strong as that of men.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">In the present report, head restraint position and neck injuries among occupants of cars with head restraints are compared with those among occupants of cars without such devices.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has developed moving deformable barriers for vehicle crash test procedures to assess vehicle and occupant response in partial overlap vehicle crashes.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">For this paper, based on the NHTSA Oblique Test procedure, a mid-size sedan was tested. The intent of this research was to provide insight into possible design changes to enhance the oblique collision performance of vehicles.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The test results predicted high injury risk for BrIC, chest deflection, and the lower extremities. In this particular study, reducing lower extremity injuries has been focused on. Traditionally, lower extremity injuries have been reduced by limiting the intrusion of the lower region of the cabin's toe-board.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this study, it is assumed that increasing the energy absorbed within the engine compartment is more efficient than reinforcing the passenger compartment as a method to reduce lower extremity injuries. However, CAE analysis for the NHTSA Oblique test shows that reinforcing the engine compartment structure can result in an increase in vehicle aggressiveness.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">An issue is that the Research Moving Deformable Barrier (RMBD) Oblique Test will lead to an overall increase in vehicle aggressiveness. The RMDB oblique crash alone is not an effective assessment of collision compatibility.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The purchase of a new automobile is unquestionably a significant investment for most customers, and with this recognition, comes a correspondingly significant expectation for quality and reliability. Amongst automotive systems -when it comes to considerations of reliability - the brakes (perhaps along with the tires) occupy a rarified position of being located in a harsh environment, subjected to continuous wear throughout their use, and are critical to the safe performance of the vehicle. Maintenance of the brake system is therefore a fact of life for most drivers - something that almost everyone must do, yet given the potentially considerable expense, it is something that of great benefit to minimize. Additionally, the performance of the brake system (like the tires) can change over the useful life of the components, realized in the form of changing friction levels, fluid consumption, and drag at a brake corner level, and realized to the driver in the form of changing pedal effort, travel, response time, and fuel economy.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Most studies of brake system performance, and most regulatory requirements that affect the design of the brake system, focus on the “near-new” condition. This is not accidental, the simple fact is that it is extremely difficult, expensive, and time consuming to realistically accelerate wear of brake components so that performance can be assessed in a worn condition. On a well-designed brake system, components in the hands of an average customer can last 5-10 years before wear out occurs, meaning that any practical study of wear effects must be greatly accelerated to occur within a typical vehicle development timeline. Environmental exposure involves many complex and time-dependent chemical reactions, which puts an upper limit on how much simulated field exposure can be accelerated.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The present study is based primarily on evaluation of brake corner performance after vehicle-level durability test exposure. Brake corners from a diverse selection of vehicles (including two hybrid vehicle examples) were retrieved from end-of test vehicles that had received the structural equivalent of 160,000 km of test exposure, along with 10 years of simulated corrosion exposure, and then subjected to performance and residual drag tests. To supplement the findings, lab-based studies of brake hardware with simulated 50% worn use and corrosion exposure are also referenced. Brake corner performance including apparent friction level, fluid consumption, drag, torque variation, and torque hysteresis were studied and related to observations of the physical condition of the parts. The effect of the measured brake corner level performance was then accounted for at a vehicle level in the form of pedal feel, fuel economy, and lining life for representative case studies.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The present performance capabilities of liquid crystal displays relative to automotive requirements is reviewed.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Fundamental material limitations to LCD performance will be discussed.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Operating characteristics that may be anticipated in the next two to five years, in regards to such parameters as operating voltage, operating and storage temperatures, humidity resistance, response time, viewing characteristics, color and display styling will be treated.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">In addition, examples of the use of LCDs for portrayal of analog and vectorgraphic information will be presented.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The 2011 Report of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India states that the total accidents with injuries is estimated about 497, 686 out of which the injuries are 511, 394 and fatalities are 142, 485, an average of one fatality per 3.5 [<span class="xref">1</span>]. Social losses on account of these crashes are estimated at over Rupees 100 000 Crores annually or 3% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [<span class="xref">2</span>]. The irony is that these causalities are rising at 5.9 % annually. India accounts for 10% of the global road crash fatalities. Therefore traffic safety became very important in India. In order to understand the root causes of accidents data is needed in more detail which could be analyzed and points out the major issues to find solutions to stop this trend. Besides vehicle safety, infrastructure related issues and education skills can be derived out of accident data.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Official statistics regarding accidents in India are available in national and state wise reports. More detailed information about accident causes, accident conditions and consequences are roughly obtained. There is a lack of engineering data in the available reports. To address traffic safety related issues like infrastructure, driving behaviour and benefit of vehicle safety systems more detailed accident data is needed.</div></div>