Abstract
Keywords - Integrated Safety, Intersection Accidents, Driving Simulator, PRE-SAFE, Collision Mitigation
Accident data from a number of different countries show that intersections are a significant focal point for accidents. In order to improve intersection safety, a range of active and passive safety measures are currently under discussion. This paper presents an integrated safety approach to reduce accident and injury severity in accidents of this type. To this end, several sets of accident statistics were analysed to describe the problem in detail, with a focus on real-world accident scenarios as a basis. An analysis of the pre-accident phase provides the basis for linked driving simulator and parameter studies aimed at evaluating driver behaviour, accident trends and the potential benefits of interventions at intersections through vehicle systems such as Collision Mitigation or PRE-SAFE.
As an example, a driving simulator experiment based on the reconstruction of intersection accidents was conducted. During the experiment, subjects experienced real-world accident scenarios, which were documented by GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study). The reproduction of the accident scenarios contains different driving manoeuvres as well as the topology, including the surroundings (e.g. buildings). It was therefore possible to measure and evaluate driver behaviour and reactions during the pre-accident phase. One key finding was that, owing to the limited time budget, a warning system would not be effective in the scenarios researched.
Based on these findings, a concept for a Collision Mitigation system was derived. The influence of different parameters on system performance was evaluated by means of a parameter study. As a result, the system concept with a focus on intersection accidents was shown to be effective for minimising accident severity. In addition, future requirements for PRE-SAFE systems at intersections were identified. Thus, the integrated safety concept from MERCEDES-BENZ paves the way for the future development of effective safety systems.