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As the popularity of vehicle navigation systems rises, incorporating Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) has been shown to enhance the systems' value by helping drivers avoid traffic delays. As an innovative premium automaker, BMW has developed a testing process to acquire and analyze RTTI data in order to ensure delivery of a high quality service and to enhance the customer experience compared to audible broadcast services. With a methodology to obtain valid and repeatable RTTI data quality measurements, BMW and its service partner, Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network (TTN), can improve its offered service over time, implement corrective measures when appropriate, and confidently ensure the service meets its premium objectives. BMW has partnered with TTN and SoftSolutions GmbH to implement a traffic data quality process and software tools.

This study tracks vehicle design changes and frontal crash test performance in NHTSA's NCAP and IIHS consumer information tests since the mid-90s for the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The objective was to provide insights into how passenger cars have changed in response to frontal consumer information tests. The history of major design changes for each model was researched and documented. The occupant injury measures from both NHTSA and IIHS were computed and the ratings compiled for several generations of both vehicles. Changes in vehicle crash pulse and occupant injury measures from both NCAP and IIHS tests, and from Canadian low speed rigid barrier tests, when available, were used to assess driver frontal protection for various vehicle generations. Loading of the rigid barrier in NCAP tests was used to evaluate front end stiffness changes over the years.

Evaluation of safety benefits is an essential task during design and development of pedestrian protection systems. Comparative evaluation of different safety concepts is facilitated by a common metric taking into account the expected human benefits. Translation of physical characteristics of a collision, such as impact speed, into human benefits requires reliable and preferably evidence-based injury models. To this end, the dependence of injury severity of body regions on explanatory factors is quantified here using the US Pedestrian Crash Data Study (PCDS) for pedestrians in frontal vehicle collisions. The explanatory and causal factors include vehicle component characteristics, physiological and biomechanical variables, and crash parameters. Severe to serious injuries most often involve the head, thorax and lower extremities.