eSafety Compendium

For both cars and commercial vehicles, great progress has been made in reducing thelevels of pollutant emissions from the tailpipe and by evaporation.Emissions of noise have also been reduced. Further actions, though, might be necessaryto ensure sustainable mobility.These actions include measures to make the road transport less energy consuming andpolluting; to address the full life cycle of vehicles, including recycling; to improve safetyand reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities, and measures to make the transport systemmore efficient. The best tools available for us today for achieving sustainable mobility arethose offered by new technologies. The way forward is the approach of the intelligentvehicles and intelligent transport systems. The technologies improving safety have thepotential to contribute also towards more sustainable transport.2. INTELLIGENT INTEGRATED ROAD SAFETYSYSTEMS2.1. The problem: Human errors in road trafficResearch has shown that 90-95% of road accidents are partly caused by human errors. Inorder to identify relevant errors a behavioural study/model is necessary. In the mostquoted models distinction is normally made between the strategic level, tactical level andoperational level.Literature shows that the probability of human errors depends on certain error shapingconditions:– External conditions e.g., limitations of vision by obstruction or blinding– Errors caused by distraction (e.g., phone, conversation)– Overload– Underload, caused by extended absence of sufficient stimuli (highway hypnosis)– Physical condition of the driver: fatigue, alcohol and drug abuse.– Insufficient interaction time (high speed differences)– Unfamiliarity with location and/or local driving behaviour– Ignorance– Lack of adequate skills or trainingFurthermore, an important general error shaping condition is the available time (hurry).Aside from this list, errors in judgement of own capabilities, vehicle capabilities andassessing the state of the environment are of importance. It is obvious that active safetysystems and applications which support the driver’s perception can help the driver toperform his or her complex driving task, if the design of the system is according to theimportant human-machine interaction principles.Page 21 of 490