New Crash-Dodging Technology Could Save Lives

DETROIT — A high-tech system to help car and commercial truck drivers avoid crashes by warning them of potential road dangers and assessing their options will get some real-world testing starting this summer.

The program, being tested under a federal grant to the University of Michigan, will help motorists choose the path of least danger when stopping or changing lanes present risks, project director Jim Sayer said.

Named the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System, it goes beyond the collision warning detectors now available in some luxury models by integrating data from multiple sources.

The government's approval of the second phase of the $32.3 million study clears the way for 16 passenger cars and 10 commercial trucks equipped with the system to hit the nation's roads starting this summer, Sayer said.

''We're going to get a good cross-section of the driving public,'' he said.

A recent study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said expanding the availability of the forward-crash and lane-departure warning systems now offered in some high-end vehicles could save tens of thousands of lives a year.

The system being tested is designed to ''warn drivers when they are about to leave the roadway, are in danger of colliding with another vehicle while attempting a lane change, or are at risk of colliding with the vehicle ahead,'' the university said in a statement.

''It will use information gathered by inertial, video and radar sensors, plus a global positioning system, to warn drivers of potentially dangerous situations to prevent or lessen the impact of crashes.''

The university's Transportation Research Institute is conducting the study, part of a joint initiative by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In addition to $25.2 million in federal funding, $7.1 million will come from Battelle Memorial Institute, Cognex Corp., Con-way Inc., Eaton Corp., Honda, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Navistar International Corp., and Visteon Corp.

Image courtesy of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.