By Kotie Geldenhuys

During a Road Safety Summit that was held in October 2009 by the Intelligence Transfer Centre, Gerhard Lamprecht of iControl told the audience more about technology that contributes to road safety.

The use of driver-assistance systems is important as these systems can improve road safety. According to Mr Lamprecht, the advent of new technologies supporting vehicle intelligence (sensors, transmitters, communications, computers) makes the use of driver-assistance systems more accessible to the broader public, allowing for safer and more efficient driver experiences.

A number of driver-assistance systems are available to assist drivers in avoiding or mitigating an accident through sensing the nature and significance of the danger. Many of these features are available in the new Golf 6 overseas, but not yet in South Africa. Vehicle buyers can ask dealers about these systems and use them in their vehicles. These systems help drivers to maintain a safe speed, keep a safe distance, avoid overtaking in critical situations and avoid collisions with vulnerable road users such as pedestrians. Systems like these can teach drivers good habits such as always using indicators and keeping to the right speed.

This feature "sees" the speed limit and reduces speed. The system even picks up stop streets and stops the vehicle. It constantly monitors vehicle speed and the local speed limit on a road and implements an action when the vehicle is detected to be exceeding the speed limit. The driver is warned, and the vehicle automatically reduces speed

Lane-keeping assistance/warning systems are electronic systems that monitor the position of the vehicle within its lane and warn the driver if the vehicle deviates or is about to deviate from the lane. The system warns the driver of a lane departure when the vehicle is travelling above a certain speed and the vehicle's indicator is not activated.

The lane-change assistant monitors the rear blind spots on both sides of the vehicle. For example, before overtaking or changing lanes, the driver looks in the side mirror which confirms that the lane is free - but suddenly a vehicle comes into the visual field from behind, just when the driver is about to change lanes. Such critical situations often arise in urban traffic and could result in an accident if the vehicle in the blind spot is overlooked. When the indicator is activated indicating that the driver is about to change lanes, these systems warn the driver either visually or by a discreet vibration of the steering wheel, if changing the lane is not safe at that moment.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) technology improves the function of standard cruise control by automatically adjusting the vehicle speed and distance to the vehicle ahead. If the vehicle ahead slows down, or if another object is detected, the ACC adjusts vehicle speed and headway accordingly without any action on the part of the driver. Once the road is clear, the system will re-accelerate the vehicle back to the set speed. As with standard cruise control, the driver can override the system at any time.

This function alerts drivers of an upcoming curve in the road.

This system helps the driver to prevent or mitigate accidents by detecting vehicles or other obstacles on the road ahead and by warning the driver if a collision becomes imminent.

This includes night vision to see pedestrians in the dark. The setup uses two infrared cameras on the front bumper to detect heat-emitting objects in the vehicle's path. The driver then receives visual and audio warnings in the hope that s/he won’t plow over a person/animal wandering in the middle of the road.

A collision avoidance system is a system that warns the driver of any dangers that may lie ahead on the road, including the vehicle’s proximity to other vehicles, obstacles in the road, traffic lights, etc. It can brake the vehicle when something is in front of the vehicle.

Driver drowsiness detection is technology which can prevent a drowsy driver from causing an accident.

With technology like this available to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers, one wonders why it is not offered to vehicle buyers. Is it negligence on the part of manufacturers and dealers, or are they themselves not aware of this life-saving technology? Vehicle buyers must become educated about the available technology and rather spend a few thousand rand on safety than on vehicle cosmetics such as leather seats or mags.