Abstract
The paper proposes a paradigm shift on the major cause of road vehicle collisions. It is shown through currently available interpretation of given statistical data that the widespread view of speed being the major cause of accidents has to be questioned. Driving is described as a process, the complexity of which varies with the driving conditions. In traffic, a situation with many individuals interacting, conflicts result from the individual trajectories intersecting in time and space. Inherent in the normal driving process is the resolution of these occurring traffic conflicts, regardless of where the fault lies. Accidents are initiated in complex situations where a given conflict is not being resolved by counteraction of the parties involved. These deficiencies or driving errors can be caused by deficiencies in the cyclic Vehicle Control Process (VCP) i.e. the sequence of perception, decision/evaluation, and execution. It is exactly here where speed comes in to play a role. Proper driving is thus the permanent match of a sufficient Vehicle Control Process to an appropriate speed, or, in other words the VCP has to master the speed at any given time. Hazardous situations are regularly mismatches of these two. In terms of safety excessive speed is always the result of a deficient Vehicle Control Process. This makes road safety dependent not from absolute speeds at a given location, but from the relative match of speed and the driving situation. So the advantageous target is not a general lower the speed but cater for the appropriate match and/or make up for match deficiencies. Recent research indicates that the predominant deficiency resides in the perceptional area. It is this understanding of the driving process and the accident generating factors that constitute the basis of the BMW Driver Assistance concept, in order to enhance traffic safety successfully and efficiently.