In The News

Every day the ARC Network updates the web site with valuable, important industry news. Following are a few articles from last month.

 

The Volvo Traffic Accident Research Team: Gathering 'Know-How' That Saves Lives In Pursuit of Car Safety, Volvo's Research Team Has Spent Nearly 30 Years Studying More Than 30,000 Real World Traffic Accidents Shortly after a Volvo engineer invented the three-point seatbelt, which is now an industry standard, Volvo conducted a comprehensive survey aimed at reducing injuries in auto accidents. This 1966 survey included every accident involving a Volvo in Sweden over a one-year period. The result suggested that the belt reduced injuries by 50 percent. Volvo realized that by knowing what happens to the car, and its occupants, in an accident can be invaluable to the product development of safer cars. So in 1970, the Traffic Accident Research Team was formed. The unit has been working continuously ever since. "The need for real know-how has not declined over the years, however we have refined our working procedures," says Hans Norin, traffic accident researcher at Volvo Cars. Read the full article

Global Auto Safety Research Verifies Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Saves Lives - Five Studies Project 30-35% Reduction in Single Vehicle Crashes - A global body of new research data from the world's top auto manufacturing countries confirms the effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a revolutionary active safety technology. The studies corroborate efforts by the ESC Coalition and leading automotive safety experts to educate consumers on the benefits of ESC systems and the impact this technology has on improving the overall safety of passenger cars and light trucks. The five international studies from Mercedes and DEKRA Automotive Research in Germany; the Swedish National Road Administration, the European Accident Causation; and Toyota in Japan, provide significant data supporting the claims that ESC can prevent crashes and help save thousands of lives. Despite ESC's reported effectiveness, only six percent of vehicles on the road in the United States are equipped with it. The ESC Coalition is encouraged that these revealing finds will help underscore the importance of ESC, especially to U.S. consumers, legislators and other industry decision makers. The ESC Coalition's educational campaign urges consumers to request this active safety technology -- which augments the passive restraints (air bags and seat belts) -- when purchasing a new vehicle. "During my 20-year tenure with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, we were able to help drivers adopt life saving mechanisms such as seatbelts and airbags," said Adele Derby, former Associate Administrator of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a current member of the ESC Coalition's Advisory Panel. "ESC, with its remarkable capability to help prevent car crashes, is yet another life saving technology that consumers must consider when buying a new vehicle." Read the full article

Auto Makers May Make Head-Protecting Airbags Standard U.S. auto makers, seeking to avoid new federal regulations, are moving toward making head-protecting air bags standard in all vehicles and altering the design of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles to make them safer, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported. For consumers, the changes are expected to mean better protection in certain kinds of crashes, though not without some design and cost trade-offs. For example, SUV and pickup drivers may find some models' fronts lowered, to make them less likely to ride up over the hoods of lower-riding cars. New head- protecting air bags could also raise vehicle prices by several hundred dollars. While a car's main air bag is designed to prevent the driver from flailing forward into the steering column, the head-protection devices are typically narrower devices that deploy from the roof and protect the head from crashing into the side window. They are already available as standard in some models -- typically European and luxury makes -- and as options in more than 50% of vehicles. However, fewer than 15% of those buyers choose them. Read the full article

Return to June/July 2003 Newsletter