Technology to the road-toll rescue

The next step in pedestrian and vehicle safety is taking the weakest link out of the equation - the inattentive driver.

THE next step in pedestrian and vehicle safety is taking the weakest link out of the equation - the inattentive driver.

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) and pedestrian detection systems automatically slow or stop motor vehicles in an emergency.

The aim is to reduce the impact of driver error on the global pedestrian death toll, which tops 270,000 a year - 25 per cent of the overall global road toll.

In Australia, pedestrian road-related deaths comprise about 13 per cent of Australia's annual road toll - approximately 180 lives.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is applying pressure - as it did for the inclusion of stability control on passenger cars - for the safety features to become mandatory.

Pedestrian detection systems use radar to identify people on roads.

Chief executive officer Nicholas Clarke is campaigning for manufacturers to keep the technology in cars when selling in the Australian market.

Mr Clarke says the death toll, which costs Australia $27 billion a year in road trauma health costs - more than the annual Defence budget - could be halved by 2020 by including these life-saving features in the mainstream vehicle fleet.

Real-world data suggests AEB can reduce crashes by up to 27 per cent.

"The organisation is advocating this life-saving technology as mandatory for all new vehicles sold in our region," Mr Clarke said.

"The more it's picked up by consumers, the more it's made available from manufacturers, the cheaper it becomes," he said.

The issue was raised during a demonstration by the University of Adelaide's Centre for Automotive Safety Research of its pedestrian head impact test on a car bonnet.

The centre also demonstrated one of the growing number of pedestrian safety systems on the market - Subaru's EyeSight, which identifies and brakes automatically if there is a risk of collision.

CASR'S deputy director Robert Anderson said the accidents involving pedestrians were not specific to one demographic.

"Pedestrian crashes tend to be more average, any driver can be involved as it is more random, sometimes it involves a speeding driver.

"If you drive faster you are placing pedestrians at greater risk but it is a more democratic crash than other ones, if you like," he said.

Subaru Australia spokesman David Rowley said automatic braking technology like the Subaru EyeSight system, which is standard in many high-end Subaru models and a $1500 option on selected other vehicles, would become more common over time.

"(Subaru Australia managing director) Nick Senior is quoted as saying he can see no reason why this system won't filter down into other vehicles in our range over time, it comes standard in the upper levels of the Liberty, Forester and Outback ranges now."

"ABS is a good example, it took quite some time for it to become mainstream, airbags as well, but the timeframe is shrinking," he said.

1.3 million people killed in road trauma every year.

270,000 of them are pedestrians.

Cost to Australia of road trauma - $27 billion.

Subaru EyeSight system - $1500 option.

Volvo V40 with world-first pedestrian airbag - from $34,990.

Cheapest Subaru with EyeSight - Forester 2.5iS from $43,990.

View the original article here