Preventive safety applications help drivers to avoid or mitigate an accident through the use of in-vehicle systems which sense the nature and significance of the danger, while taking the driver's state into account. Depending on the significance and timing of the threat, the active and preventive safety systems will:
- inform the driver as early as possible;
- warn him or her if there is no driver reaction to the information; and
- actively assist or ultimately intervene in order to avoid an accident or mitigate its consequences.
Preventive safety applications also help drivers to:
- maintain a safe speed and a safe distance;
- drive within the lane;
- avoid overtaking in critical situations;
- safely pass intersections;
- avoid crashes with vulnerable road users;
- and last but not least, reduce the severity of an accident if it still occurs.
Preventive safety makes use of information, communications and positioning technologies to provide solutions for improving road safety. With such technology - which can operate either autonomously on-board the vehicle or co-operatively based on vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-infrastructure communication - the number of accidents and their severity can be reduced, leading to a decrease in the number of accidents.
The goal of Prevent project was to contribute to the:
- road safety goal of 50 % fewer accidents by 2010 - as specified in the key action '2.3.1.1 eSafety for road and air transport' from the European Union;
- competitiveness of the European automotive industry;
- European scientific knowledge community on road transport safety;
- congregation and cooperation of European and national organisations and their road transport safety initiatives Prevent envisions the early availability of advanced, next generation preventive and active safety applications and enabling technologies and an accelerated deployment on European roads.
In accordance with these goals, the Prevent project:
- developed, demonstrated, tested and evaluated preventive safety applications, using advanced sensor, communication and positioning technologies integrated into on-board systems for driver assistance.
- facilitated the co-operation of all stakeholders leading to the earliest possible implementation of preventive/active safety systems in Europe. The main technological results regard: safe speed and safe following; communication technologies to improve the detection, locating and evaluation of hazards; new sensorial devices integrating obstacle detection and communication; lateral support and driver Monitoring; lane-keeping support system for situations with poor road and environmental conditions; intersection safety; concepts for sensors and communication aimed to road markings and crossing traffic recognition; vulnerable road users and collision mitigation; active 3D sensor technology for pre-crash and blind spot surveillance; location and classification of obstacles (cars, pedestrians, bikes,etc.); concepts for advanced sensors and sensor data fusion; safety-enhanced digital maps for ADAS applications; generic impact assessment for all functions.
- assisted technological development and integration as well as decreased component costs.
- contributed towards rapid market introduction and field penetration by helping to overcome major barriers including risk assessment and liability issues in introducing such systems;
- created a greater awareness of the active safety approach (roadmaps, systems, common architecture including infrastructure, cost efficiency and benefits to the potential users) leading to increased user demands for preventive/active safety Prevent will enable the European industry to further strengthen this position by introducing leading edge technologies while helping to reduce road accidents.
On 19-20 September, the Prevent project held a large and very successful exhibition of technologies for safer road traffic in Versailles, France.
The event received strong political support with the attendance of many VIPs including European Commissioner for DG Information Society & Media, Viviane Reding, and the French Minister of Higher Education and Research, Valérie Pécresse, who participated in demonstrations of the latest in preventive vehicle safety. A large number of representatives of the press turned out as well to experience the demonstrations which included simulators and over twenty-five vehicles.
With a wide range and variety of applications that help drivers to watch their speed and lane departure, all the way to those that brake to help to mitigate the damage in case of an unavoidable collision, the 'Prevent in Action!' Exhibition delivered what it promised - an amazing array of demonstrations of what's to come in future road safety.
Giving the end-user an idea of what's to come, on 22 September, the Prevent partners brought their experimental vehicles to the public. Prototype cars were showcased in front of the magnificent Versailles palace - effectively opening research directly to the masses. This symbolic gesture fostered hands-on awareness of the upcoming technology and car of the future.