Abstract
Safe traffic is a key factor for both social players and the sustainable development of the economy. The various interest groups involved in traffic each have their own role in making our roads safe. The large number of traffic accidents and their grave consequences represent a real problem all over the world (see, for instance, the incredibly crowded metropolises of Southeast Asia or the megacities of Latin-American). A successful innovative activity in this field performed on a worldwide scale contributes to solving a critical social and economic issue. Due to the more easily available European statistical data, the paper is going to present the causes of accidents and examine possible solutions.
A 2001 objective of the European Union requires a 50 percent reduction in the number of fatal road accidents by 2010. Although a number of effective measures have been implemented in the field of traffic safety, the number of road accidents is still unacceptably high in the EU: a total of 1.3 million accidents per year result in close to 40,000 deaths and 1.7 million injuries. There is a large body of statistical data available (both from Hungary and from Europe) and several comprehensive researches discuss the types of accidents. Available analyses are going to made on what kind of active or passive vehicle safety systems could have helped avoid the accidents. These analyses have and still define the main directions for legislation and technical developments.
Keywords: traffic, safety, accident, statistics, assistant systems