Imagine if you will that no matter how hard you tried, you could not wreck your car. You throw it in reverse and mash the gas pedal. The car backs up and then stops as it approaches the wall behind you. You throw it into drive and mash the pedal once more to peel off into traffic, but the car senses the loss in traction and slows the tires so they don't spin out. Now driving down the streets of downtown you try to change lanes into the car beside you, but your car alerts you of the other automobile and prevents you from changing lanes. You decide to ram the car in front of you, but the car simply slows down to match the speed of the vehicle in front of you. Finally, your wish is granted and by a random roll of the dice a heavy branch is torn from a tree by the blowing wind and smashes your car with it. Your now disabled vehicle slides into another vehicle causing a pile-up in the middle of downtown. It is rush hour and the roads are packed, but the traffic lights coordinate to ensure emergency response vehicles get there as fast as possible and other vehicles are free to vacate the area. Real-time communication notifies other drivers of the accident and detours them on other routes, freeing up the local congestion. The emergency teams get to you without any hesitation, and find that you are perfectly fine. The car had responded to each phase of the crash, and reacted to protect you the driver, and any passengers you may or may not have had. This could very well be the future of driving, preventative measures put into place that make the driver and the vehicle more aware, more responsive, and less likely to experience an accident. But in the present, this is not the case. We've all become distracted while driving. Whether it's a quick drifting into our thoughts, the cell phone ringing, the music, the kids screaming in the background, or the fender-bender on the side of the road; we've all lost track of what we were doing while driving. Coupled with a hazard that the driver is unaware of, this unanticipated distraction has the potential to cause a traffic accident with lethal consequences. You can still drive your car into another vehicle or a wall, traffic lights don't react in real time to dynamic situations that unfold in the streets, and drivers are not fed real time information regarding the roads they are traveling. Programs such as these are still in their infancy, and with the proper resources and cooperation in research and development, the described future could easily be a reality.
As more drivers and vehicles occupy the roads, and the dangers of driving continue to increase, resources need to be dedicated to new technologies, programs, and concepts to help drivers avoid potentially fatal traffic accidents. One perspective in tackling this safety issue is to better manage the roads and highways to alleviate congestion and make traveling safer. A field of research being developed and pursued by several nations, intelligent transportation systems aims to better manage traffic through applying technology to the traffic infrastructure. The Council of State Governments produced a document, Capitol Research Transportation in April 2010 which affirms that currently the United States spends $100 million annually on research & development, and deployment[1]. The Washington, D.C. based think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recommends that federal funding should be significantly increased by $2.5 billion[1]. There are 5 groups that intelligent transportation system technologies are categorized in. Those categories are: advanced traveler information systems, advanced transportation management systems, intelligent transportation system-enabled transportation pricing systems, advanced public transportation systems and fully integrated intelligent transportation systems.
Advanced traveler information systems stream real time information to drivers regarding delays due to congestion, accidents, weather, road conditions, road work, etc. One such utilization of advanced traveler information systems is the use of electronic billboards that display real time information concerning travel times, hazards, road conditions, weather conditions, and possible alternate route suggestions. Another method of delivering such critical information is through the use of visual screens inside the vehicle. Critical information can be displayed on GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) devices, on board navigation screens, or even the driver's cell phone or mobile device.
Advanced transportation management systems encompass the realm of monitoring and managing the flow of traffic to better regulate the continuity of traffic and relieve points of congestion. This is achieved through the implementation of traffic signal coordination, which has to do with the timing of lights, so as to prevent bottlenecking and impediment of vehicles on the roads. Parallel to this concept is the use of ramp meters. Ramp meters monitor and control the vehicles entering and exiting a highway. Doing so helps keep traffic from slowing down on the highway, as well as keep congestion from backing up on the ramp and into traffic. This is similar to traffic signal coordination in that access to the highway via the on-ramps is coordinated to allow traffic to continue moving freely at an appropriate pace.
Intelligent transportation system-enabled transportation pricing systems have to do with managing access to highways and express routes by the use of monetary exchange. By allowing drivers to drive on express lanes, bypasses, and toll routes in exchange for money, drivers can elect to travel less congested routes, while simultaneously alleviating a portion of the congestion on free transportation routes. Not only do these systems help add a level of management to the entire situation, but it also provides a source of revenue to help maintain and implement the other intelligent transportation systems.
Advanced public transportation systems allow people to access real time information concerning the schedules of trains, busses, etc. Any adjustments or delays in the schedules can be made available to passengers, making it an easier to use and more reliable system. Improving and promoting the use of public transportation systems is vital as a source of revenue, and as an alternate means of travel. Making dependable, alternative means of travel available means taking additional vehicles off of the roads. This creates more room on the streets, and thus increases the level of achievable safety.
Fully integrated intelligent transportation systems utilize infrastructure-to-vehicle communication as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. The ability to stream real time information directly to the driver (or the driver's vehicle) alleviates the problem of static information boards. One observable problem with information posted along the road is that if it is missed and passed the driver is now without that information. Also, if the driver is not familiar with a language or certain types of information, a sign providing information may not be entirely understood. Infrastructure-to-vehicle would allow real time usable data to be fed to the vehicle, at which point the data could be displayed in a manner that is familiar to the driver. For example, data streamed to the vehicle in English could be translated by the vehicle or device into another language. In addition, billboards that display information are limited in how much room they have for text, and how fast different text can be alternated. Likewise, information could travel from the vehicle to the infrastructure providing the infrastructure with current data. An example would be the vehicle's speed. If multiple vehicles are sending data showing their speeds, the infrastructure could use the information to create a real time image of traffic which could be used in calculating travel times to different destinations. For instance, if cars on 8th street are not traveling at speed limit, or are stopping frequently, then drivers approaching 8th street could be advised to take alternate routes, or traffic signals could be coordinated to relieve the build-up of traffic in that area.
Intelligent transportation systems is just one of the many programs in development worldwide. Some of these programs aim to eliminate common drivers, and replace them with systems that allow the cars to essentially drive themselves, follow a physical track, or mimic the actions and behaviors of a lead professional driver. When looking at the big picture of driving safety, the transportation infrastructure is a good place to start, but none the less it is only the beginning. The vehicles being driven are also an important element in the choreographically challenging orchestra we call the transportation system.
There are a myriad of programs in development and in use with the intention of making vehicles more aware of their surroundings. These programs seek to ensure vehicles are also equipped with tools that can be utilized in responding to the dynamic environment vehicles are driven in. One of these programs is referred to as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). ADAS encompasses some commonly seen technologies, as well as some that drivers are not so commonly exposed to on today's roads. The first of these technologies we will take a look at is adaptive cruise control. Adaptive cruise control works by not only maintaining the current speed of the vehicle, but also by maintaining a minimum distance from the vehicle ahead. Sensors on the car measure the distance between the car with adaptive cruise control and the vehicle in front of it, and adjusting the speed of the vehicle if that minimum distance is compromised. This allows for drivers to use cruise control in more day to day driving situations, rather than being confined to only using it in highway situations. Utilizing adaptive cruise control, gives drivers the opportunity to drive under less stress, which can have an indirect effect on the driver's safety, as a relaxed driver will make more rational decisions. A similar technology, traffic sign recognition, gives the vehicle the ability to read and interpret traffic signs that a person may miss while driving. For instance, the vehicle can read speed limit signs and prevent the vehicle from exceeding that speed limit. This can help keep dangerous situations from arising out of use of excess speeds. Excess speeds create situations where drivers have less time to respond, vehicles have more energy behind them and are therefore harder to control in an effective manner, and unpreventable mishaps become exponentially more dangerous and lethal.
Another of these technologies is blind spot detection. How often do you check your mirrors, peer over your left shoulder, start changing lanes and then the blasting sound of a horn comes blaring into your driver side window as a car begins to sneak into view? It happens because no matter how hard you try, there is always a blind spot cars can hide in next to you. Coupled with the danger of taking your eyes off the road to turn your head to look behind and beside you, the blind spot is a major culprit in a driver's daily exposure to unnecessarily dangerous driving conditions. Blind spot detection works by monitoring the blind spot of your vehicle, and alerting the driver when there is an object, most commonly another vehicle, in that blind spot. For convenience purposes, the most common location for this alert is in your side view mirror. A caution symbol of some sort illuminates in the mirror to communicate to the driver the presence of the hazard. This technology also adds to the driver's positive and less stressful experience while driving.
Another area that has been looked at by the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems is the issue of braking. According to a study by the German Association of Insurances, "50% of rear end collisions occur without any braking and 70% with insufficient brake intensity".[2] The ability to stop a vehicle seems like a simple concept, but the reality is that a vehicle requires differing intensities of brake application for different braking situations. If the brakes are applied too rapidly or too intensely, then the vehicle's stopping distance increases greatly as the tires simply slide across the road out of a loss of traction due to the sudden change in friction and resistance. Emergency brake assist works in much the same way as adaptive cruise control, in that it monitors the distances between the vehicle and those in front and behind it. If a front end collision seems imminent then the emergency brake assist begins applying the brakes. As the distance becomes more critical, the emergency brake assist applies more and more force to the brakes, eventually stopping the vehicle. If the distance closes too quickly for the brakes to be effectively used to avoid the collision, then the emergency brake assist helps to minimize the impact by applying the brakes in such a manner that prevents the vehicle from losing traction and simply sliding into the leading vehicle at full speed due to rapid or forceful application of the brakes. In the event that a rear end collision seems imminent, the emergency brake assist begins applying the brakes to avoid the unrestricted transfer of energy from the trailing car to the impacted vehicle. Applying the brakes properly just before a rear end collision occurs effectively aids in preventing the vehicle from sliding into the vehicle in front of it, after being struck by a trailing vehicle. This helps minimize both the number of vehicles involved in a single collision, as well as minimize the amount of damage done to each of the vehicles involved.
Intelligent headlamp control also seeks to assist the driver, by better illuminating the environment in which the vehicle is being driven under insufficient lighting conditions. According to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, vehicle accidents are twice as likely to occur at night as during daytime driving operations.[3] Part of the reason for this is that headlamps on vehicles operate at fixed levels of illumination. This means that in some conditions, there is not enough illumination to properly see the driving environment, and under other circumstances, there is too much unnecessary illumination. In the case of the latter the unnecessary amounts of lighting can cause temporary blindness to other drivers. Intelligent headlamp control recognizes when there is oncoming traffic or traffic in front of you and dynamically adjusts the lights so that the other drivers are not blinded. And then when there are no other drivers, the lights go back to full illumination to provide the appropriate amount of light. The most commonly seen aspect of this technology is the simple automatic lights, which turns headlamps on and off under appropriate levels of lighting. The full utilization of intelligent headlamp control means that drivers no longer have to worry about turning lights on or off, or flipping between high beams and low beams.
Another hazard that advanced driver assistance systems aids avoid is the hazard drifting out of lanes. This usually happens when a driver becomes distracted or even begins to nod off and fall asleep for a moment. Lane departure warning uses sensors to monitor the vehicles position in relation to the traffic lines on the road. When the vehicle begins to drift and approach the lines, the vehicle alerts the driver through audible, visual, or tactile warning. In a related technology the lane keeping system even applies a slight adjustment to the steering that the driver can correct at anytime. The aim is to procure as much time as possible for the driver to react to the possibility of an unintentional lane change, and therefore to eliminate the possibility that a possibly fatal accident could occur.
The increasing ability of the vehicle to sense and comprehend the environment, as well as to react to the environment brings forth a great new realm of safety. With technologies such as blind spot detection, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, and the many others offered by the advanced driver assistance systems much of the stress and responsibility is transferred from the driver to the vehicle. Some may argue that this transfer of responsibility from the driver to the vehicle, may create more of a sense of complacency wherein the driver begins to pay less attention to the road, out of less of a need to do so. But many of these technologies do not fully take the responsibility from the driver, but simply act to inform the driver of the presence of hazards that could potentially harm or cause death to people on the roads. This allows the driver to remain more relaxed, and therefore more coherent while driving. This more relaxed state gives drivers the ability to respond rationally, rather than out of panic. Also, with the freeing of the driver from certain responsibilities, comes the freedom of the driver to monitor other important aspects of driving, which comes out of the new age of technology. These technologies arising out of such programs as the intelligent transportation system allow the driver to be more comprehensively perceptive of the environment and condition of the roads on which they are driving. The utilization, in full, of the technologies being developed in the realms of vehicle safety, information dissemination, and traffic management are the future of making the roads we travel safer and more efficient. This is extremely important when one considers the number of people and vehicles occupying the roads today and in the future. With the rate of population growth in urban areas, as well as the expansion of developing countries from rural to urban centers of life, makes the importance of these technologies invaluable. Throughout the world, many countries and regions are progressively pursuing the perfect transportation system, under which people can travel safely, quickly, and efficiently. The growing safety issues associated with driving is not a problem that will go away or fix itself. It needs to be aggressively researched and developed, and finally put into action. Doing so requires time, money, and human resources that need to be properly coordinated to be effectively utilized and productive. It is also my belief, that better education of drivers to understand these systems, how they work in concert with the driver, the vehicle, and the infrastructure is paramount to ensuring the safety of all drivers sharing the roads.
Works Cited
[1] Sean Slone, Capitol Research. (April 2010). Intelligent Transportation System. <http://www.csg.org/policy/documents/CapitolResearch_ITS.pdf>
[2]Continental Automotive Group. (2011). Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. <http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automotive/themes/passenger_cars/chassis_safety/adas/ov1_adas_en.html>
[3] Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety. (2006). Graduated Driver Licensing and Teen Drivers.
[4] Ken Pohlmann, Edmunds Inc. (April 28, 2010). Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Take Control in the Car. <http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/advanced-driver-assistance-systems-take-control-in-the-car.html>
[5] Anders Lindgren, Fang Chen, Patrick W. Jordan, Haixin Zhang, International Journal of Design. Vol 2. No 2. 2008. Requirements for the Design of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems - The Differences between Swedish and Chinese Drivers.
[6] Research and Innovative Technology Administration, US Department of Transportation. (March 24, 2011). Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office. <http://www.its.dot.gov/research.htm>
[7] ITS America. (April 2011). Intelligent Transportation Society of America Annual Report 2009-2010.
[8] Khalid Al-Khateeb, Jaiz Johari, Wajdi Al-Khateeb. Journal of Computer Science. (2008). Dynamic Traffic Light Sequence Algorithm Using RFID.
Cars, Drivers, & Roads: Sharing the Responsibility
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