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This paper summarizes the validation of prototype vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) safety applications based on Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) in the United States under a cooperative agreement between the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partners LLC (CAMP) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). After consideration of a number of V2I safety applications, Red Light Violation Warning (RLVW), Curve Speed Warning (CSW) and Reduced Speed Zone Warning with Lane Closure Warning (RSZW/LC) were developed, validated and demonstrated using seven different vehicles (six passenger vehicles and one Class 8 truck) leveraging DSRC-based messages from a Road Side Unit (RSU). The developed V2I safety applications were validated for more than 20 distinct scenarios and over 100 test runs using both light- and heavy-duty vehicles over a period of seven months. Subsequently, additional on-road testing of CSW on public roads and RSZW/LC in live work zones were conducted in Southeast Michigan.

Cervical Spine Distortions (CSD) - sometimes called whiplash injuries - have turned out in passenger car accidents to be one of the most important types of injuries to occupants, according to the rate of occurences and to the significance of consequences as well. Many technical aspects of traffic accidents which in the past have led to CSD have been analysed and reported in a large number of publications. However human factors data are not as good represented in the literature. Particularly these parameters and their relationship to whiplash injuries have been analysed on the basis of the Volkswagen Accident Database. The significance of the items gender, age, body height and body weight of belted occupants in passenger cars involved in rear end collisions is presented in quantitative terms regarding frequencies of occurance and risk of suffering CSD respectively.

Generally, safety belt effectiveness is spoken of as a single value which is applied to all types of accidents and injuries. This study analyzes the makeup of safety belt effectiveness and compares the overall effectiveness to the effectiveness for different levels of injury, different areas of the body and for different types of accidents at different speeds. These comparisons show the wide range of effectiveness of safety belts and the relative effectiveness for different specific situations.

In a consortium of European industrial partners and research institutes, a combination of industrial development and scientific research was organised. The objective was to improve the catalytic NOx conversion for lean burn cars and heavy-duty trucks, taking into account boundary conditions for the fuel consumption. The project lasted for three years. During this period parallel research was conducted in research areas ranging from basic research based on a theoretical approach to full scale emission system development. NOx storage catalysts became a central part of the project. Catalysts were evaluated with respect to resistance towards sulphur poisoning. It was concluded that very low sulphur fuel is a necessity for efficient use of NOx trap technology. Additionally, attempts were made to develop methods for reactivating poisoned catalysts. Methods for short distance mixing were developed for the addition of reducing agent.

The vehicle fleet differs in mass, geometry, stiffness and many other parameters. These differences are consequences of different design objectives for these vehicles and result from consumer demand, environmental and safety considerations etc. Accident research shows that the injury outcome differs in some cases, when two vehicles collide. Scientists often discuss a list of features that are assumed to be relevant for compatibility of vehicles. The relevance of these potentially important compatibility features and expected compatibility measures is examined from the perspective of accident analysis. An overview of this accident research is given and crash tests and measures are discussed that correspond with these findings.

Compatibility has been a research issue for many years now. It has gained more importance recently due to significant improvements in primary and secondary safety. Using a rigorous approach, combining accident research and theoretical scientific considerations, measures to improve vehicle-vehicle compatibility, with an emphasis on feasibility, were discussed. German accident research statistics showed that frontal impacts are of higher statistical significance than side impacts. Based on this and the high potential for improvement due high available deformation energy, the frontal impact configuration was identified as the most appropriate collision mode for addressing the compatibility issue. In side impacts, accident avoidance was identified as the most feasible and sensible measure. For frontal vehicle-vehicle impacts, both trucks and passenger cars were identified as opponents of high statistical significance.

Even though a number of developed countries enjoy a high level of vehicle safety, more than 1.2 million fatalities still occur each year on roadways worldwide. There remains a need to continue improving vehicle and road safety. New technologies in sensors and electronic control units, and the growing knowledge of car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure technologies have led to a fusion of the previously separated areas of accident avoidance (popularly known as active safety) and mitigation of injuries (popularly known as passive safety) into the newer concept of integrated vehicle safety. This new approach represents a further step toward lowering accident rates. This book, written by two of the foremost automotive engineering safety experts, takes a unique and comprehensive approach to describing all areas of vehicle safety: accident avoidance, pre-crash, mitigation of injuries, and post-crash technologies, providing a solutions-based perspective of integrated vehicle safety.