Autoblog

"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."
"I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that."

That type of belligerence might be coming to your car under the guise of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. Many cars can already be had with the necessary hardware like GPS navigation systems that help a vehicle determine its position, and stability control that can already fire individual brakes to effect course corrections. Is the next step writing the software to interconnect those systems into an active safety net? This would effectively enable the car to steer you out of trouble if it compares your trajectory with the nav system and determines you're off-course.

Passive safety systems have seemingly hit a wall, and the mass that all that crash safety adds must be either offset through the use of more exotic and expensive materials, or the result is a stupendously heavy vehicle. The next step will be active safety, a baby-step that has already been made with stability control and active cruise control. Current maps in navigation systems aren't adequate for driver aids, as they're mainly bird's-eye-view positional representations. Once maps with more data become available, the possibility of your car bringing all its situational awareness equipment to bear so that it can execute lane changes and warn you about a blind hairpin curve coming up might not be such fantasy.

[Source: Automotive Design Line]

Maserati only recently started selling the new automatic transmission version of the Quattroporte sedan and now it's being recalled. Apparently there is a problem with the low voltage threshold for the traction control and stability control that causes it to shutdown prematurely when it thinks the battery is low. The software problem evidently doesn't affect the anti-lock brakes, which should continue to function normally. Only 718 cars are affected by the recall that requires a replacement of the electronic control unit, though considering the Quattroporte is a six-figure car, that number likely represents a decent portion of those on the road.

[Source: NHTSA via MotorAuthority]

This week lawmakers will be proposing that stability-control systems be federally mandated for all new vehicles sold in the U.S. USA Today reports that comments will be taken for 90 days on the proposal and if approved a final rule could be issued as early as next year with a phase-in period to allow automakers enough time to disseminate the technology across their entire line ups.

Currently stability control is available on about half of all new models sold, but in some instances can cost up to $900 as an option. Studies have shown, however, that stability control can save a lot of lives, somewhere in the order of 10,000 per year. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, if the technology were made standard, then fatal single-vehicle crashes would fall by 56% and the risk of single-vehicles crashes would drop 40%.

Since anti-lock brakes are an integral component in stability-control systems, the new rule would also make that technology standard across the board for the first time. Though it has never been federally mandated as standard equipment, ABS is now standard on 80% of all new vehicles sold.

[Source: USA Today]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims that making electronic stability control (ESC) a standard feature in the US could reduce auto deaths by up to one-third, which would result in a whopping 11,000 fewer fatalities per year.

The institute's numbers show that otherwise identical vehicles have a 43 percent reduction in fatal crashes when equipped with ESC. Not only were single-vehicle crashes (most often occurring when a vehicle loses control and leaves the roadway) reduced, but high-speed multiple-car collisions were also less common. Not surprisingly, the number of low-speed crashes remained the same, as ESC doesn't do much good in a parking lot unless some serious hooliganism is involved.

While some call for specific federal legislation that would mandate the technology on all motor vehicles, an upcoming revision to NHTSA's rollover test that will invoke a dynamic handling maneuver is said to effectively require ESC on most vehicles. Approximately 70 percent of SUVs and 40 percent of passenger cars sold in the US in the current model year have ESC as standard equipment.

We've explored the limits of electronic stability control on several SUVs that have recently rolled through the Autoblog Garage, and we can state that modern electronic babysitters are indeed amazing at arresting our intentional attempts at upsetting the vehicles. As such, we definitely support the idea of ESC as standard equipment, just so long as each vehicle also includes a means to completely deactivate it.  

[Source: Money/CNN]

 

 

 

According to a new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration brief, SUVs are getting smarter about turning turtle. By its count, around seven out of every ten SUVs contain electronic stability control programs, reducing the likelihood of rollovers. In fact, nearly 70 percent of 2006 model year SUVs have it as standard fit-an impressive leap over last year's 43 percent. In fact, this bit of silicon trickery has led to no fewer than 39 models obtaining a four star rollover resistance rating. Of course, the increasing crop of car-based crossovers (and their attendant lower centers of gravity) likely has something to do with the higher scores as well.

Among this year's four-star class: Chevrolet's HHR (inexplicably classified as an SUV due to its flat load floor), Hyundai Tucson, Honda Pilot, and Suzuki's Grand Vitara, which is currently rolling around in the Autoblog Garage.

Chief SUV rollover risk were the Nissan Xterra 4x4 (25 percent chance of rollover), Chevrolet Tahoe 4x2 and Hummer H3 (24 percent chance)... but even these rated well enough to obtain three-star ratings.

Check out the link for more results.

[Sources: Car & Driver; Volvo]