Autoblog

IIHS survey says D.C. residents like speed and red-light cameras

Michael Harley — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:45:00 EST

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released a study this week that seems to go against what critics and the media have been reporting for years. According to the report, some people - more specifically, a large majority of the residents in Washington D.C. - actually like red light and speed cameras.

The study, conducted in November 2012, interviewed 801 people who live in the District. Of those surveyed over the phone, 71 percent had driven and walked in the city during the past month, 23 percent had walked and not driven and 4 percent had driven and not walked. Of those, just over 50 percent of residents surveyed said they would support cameras at stop signs and nearly 60 percent supported crosswalk cameras. A full 90 percent residents surveyed who hadn't driven in the city in the past month said they favor speed cameras, while 88 percent favor red light cameras.

The press release (posted below) reveals that the eye-opening IIHS study comes from the pedestrians' - not the drivers' - perspective. The data suggests that camera enforcement to increase safety is welcomed despite any revenue controversy. In a city like our nation's capital, chock-full of tourists and with plenty of congestion, residents are so fed up with reckless violators (there were 158 traffic deaths in the District from 2007-11) that they apparently welcome such monitoring even if the tickets end up in their own mailboxes.

Continue reading IIHS survey says D.C. residents like speed and red-light cameras

IIHS survey says D.C. residents like speed and red-light cameras originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brazilian crosswalk guardians pick up, carry car out of intersection

Jeffrey N. Ross — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Videos, South America

To promote National Traffic Week in Brazil, a group has posted a video of how it is taking pedestrian safety into its own hands. The Hermann Blumenau Rotary Club is being called the "Brazilian Crosswalk Guardians," and this video shows exactly why.

When what looks to be a Fiat Panda rolls into the striped crosswalk area, the eight men sprint into action lifting the car up and moving it out of the way of pedestrians. This is apparently just a demonstration put on a marketing agency, but we'd be interested to see how things would play out if this were an actual crosswalk intervention.

The whole point of this group, and the video, is to point out how bad pedestrian safety has gotten in Brazil, especially in the city of Blumenau. According to the article in the Huffington Post, 13 people are killed each year in this city alone which is double the average rate for the rest of Brazil.

Check out the Brazilian crosswalk guardians in the video below.

Continue reading Brazilian crosswalk guardians pick up, carry car out of intersection

Brazilian crosswalk guardians pick up, carry car out of intersection originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM developing Wi-Fi app to help pedestrians avoid being hit [w/video]

Jeff Sabatini — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology, GM

Since even the threat of serious injury or death isn't enough to keep people engrossed in their phones from walking out into traffic, General Motors is developing a new pedestrian safety technology that will sense the phone itself. Using Wi-Fi Direct, a peer-to-peer wireless standard that's like a medium-range Bluetooth, a car would be able to detect a smartphone directly and alert the driver in time to avoid kneecapping the pedestrian.

GM says that Wi-Fi Direct would allow devices to connect in one second, rather than the seven to eight that devices would need when connecting through a cell tower. While GM is still developing the concept, it also has plans for a smartphone app that would warn approaching vehicles. It could be used by bike messengers, construction workers, and others who are frequently at risk of being hit by traffic.

Scroll down to read the full press release and watch a video explaining the concept.

Continue reading GM developing Wi-Fi app to help pedestrians avoid being hit [w/video]

GM developing Wi-Fi app to help pedestrians avoid being hit [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo protecting pedestrians with airbags on outside of new V40 [w/video]

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Wagon, Europe, Government/Legal, Safety, Technology, Videos, Hatchback, Volvo, Design/Style

Above all else, Volvo is known in car circles as being the foremost innovator in technologies intended to improve the safety of its vehicles. While we most often think of the safety of a car's internal occupants, it's important to remember than a two-ton weapon of mass destruction moving at highway speeds is also extremely dangerous to pedestrians outside the car.

In addition to a new Pedestrian Detection system, Volvo has introduced the world's first external airbags on its new five-door V40. Located at the base of the windshield, the airbag deploys from a cavity that expands upward from the rear of the car's hood in the event of a collision with a pedestrian.

We like this solution to the strict European legislation for pedestrian safety, as it doesn't require significant changes to a car's overall styling while still helping to save lives. Check out a brief demonstration of the technology in a rendered video below, along with a related press release that covers all of the V40's safety equipment.

Continue reading Volvo protecting pedestrians with airbags on outside of new V40 [w/video]

Volvo protecting pedestrians with airbags on outside of new V40 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Land Rover Defender to soldier on until 2017

Zach Bowman — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:29:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Land Rover, UK, Rumormill, Diesel, Off-Road

Autocar reports that the Land Rover Defender will be around a good bit longer than we thought. The vehicle may stay on dealer lots until at least 2017 thanks in part to a new 2.2-liter diesel engine that can meet more stringent EU6 emissions standards. Originally, a successor to the long-running Defender was expected to show up as soon as 2015. Land Rover also says that there may be a loophole in the emissions legislation that could keep the standard from applying to the globe-crushing SUV until a much later date.

But emissions legislation wasn't the only thing pushing the Defender out the door. With its abrupt, vertical grille, the vehicle couldn't help but fail new pedestrian collision tests. Even so, Land Rover may have found another exemption that may save the Defender from the ire of lawmakers until 2020 on that front. Given the small number of Defender vehicles running around, we can't help but think that's all good news.

Land Rover Defender to soldier on until 2017 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NHTSA assessing pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and electric vehicles [w/poll]

Autoblog Staff — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Safety, Electric

The addition of pedestrian warning systems on sometimes near-silent vehicles like the electric Nissan Leaf and hybrid Toyota Prius has been the subject of much debate, but with the U.S. House and Senate passing a measure that requires hybrids and plug-in vehicles to emit an audible sound to warn nearby pedestrians, like it or not, these noise-making systems will soon become standard on all electric-drive autos sold in the U.S.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it has taken the first steps toward proposing regulations to "protect unsuspecting pedestrians" from accidents involving near-silent vehicles. Says U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood:

America's streets must be safe for everyone who uses them. As we improve the environment with cleaner cars, we must also consider how it affects those on bikes and on foot.

The NHTSA is beginning to lay out its proposed regulations for pedestrian warning systems. This may take some time, but eventually the agency will evaluate noise-making systems and publish its recommendations in the Federal Register. At that time, the public will have 30 days to submit comments on the NHTSA's proposed rules.

Ahead of that, feel free to cast either a Yea or Nay vote on noisemakers in general in our informal poll below.

View Poll

[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]

Continue reading NHTSA assessing pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and electric vehicles [w/poll]

NHTSA assessing pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and electric vehicles [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patent shows Porsche working on pop-up hood for next 911

Aaron Richardson — Mon, 16 May 2011 17:31:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Safety, Technology, Porsche

Europe is a dangerous place to be a pedestrian. With crowded cities characterized by gridlock and narrow streets, you have to be on your game every second to avoid getting bowled over by a raging, overzealous motorist. All too often, that spells tragedy.

With one-sided car-on-human accidents on the rise, automakers are feeling increased pressure from their governments to make their cars safer, not just for the guy behind the wheel, but the guy they might hit.

Porsche is apparently working on a pop-up hood for the upcoming 911, which would raise up in the event of a collision with a pedestrian and, with any luck, reduce the severity of their injuries. The system works via a set of time delay-controlled actuators, which helps ensure that the system protects unfortunate passerby as effectively as possible.

Patent shows Porsche working on pop-up hood for next 911 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 May 2011 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senate unanimously rules in favor of noisy hybrids, electric cars

Autoblog Staff — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:33:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Safety, Electric

Regardless of whether or not there's an actual need for pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and electric vehicles, the U.S. Senate has voted unanimously to approve a measure that would make the noise-adding setup standard on all vehicles that can operate - even if just momentarily - without the burble of an engine.

The measure, called the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 and backed by Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, aims to establish standards for alerting pedestrians of the possible danger of an approaching vehicle that moves in near silence. With the Senate voting in favor of the bill, it will now head off to the House of Representatives, where it's expected to pass with ease.

[Source: Green Car Advisor]

Senate unanimously rules in favor of noisy hybrids, electric cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Volvo suffers another auto-stop safety system failure in public fashion

Chris Paukert — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Wagon, Safety, Technology, Videos, Volvo, Australia

Volvo V60 Pedestrian Detection test failures - Click above to watch the videos

Volvo's new Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake is under scrutiny after a series of demonstrations for journalists in Australia went awry in rather spectacular fashion. During the presentation, an inflatable test dummy was mowed down after the system failed to detect its presence in time to stop. This, despite the fact that the technology was showcased under controlled conditions. The optional hardware, which debuts on the 2011 S60 and V60 wagon, utilizes both radar and camera technology to avoid or mitigate an accident with a pedestrian by automatically slowing the vehicle to either a full stop or at least initiating full braking to lower the rate of impact (Volvo: "The system can avoid a collision at speeds up to 22 mph. At higher speeds, the focus is on reducing the car's speed as much as possible prior to the impact").

Volvo officials themselves cautioned... that the system may not always detect the dummy's presence.

According to Aussie motoring website Car Advice, journalists at the demonstration were told by a Volvo spokesperson that the system may have been 'confused' by a tractor-trailer parked around 30 meters behind the dummy, but the subsequent removal of the big rig still saw two more failures resulting in impacts. According to the same report, Volvo noted that "around 650 media participated in the week-long demonstration - with a claimed 99.7 per cent success rate - the nature of the failed 0.3 per cent of runs appears to be undisclosed."

Autoblog had the chance to sample this system firsthand at the Oregon launch of the S60 earlier this month in similar parking lot tests with different dummies. It performed as-advertised for us, though a few other journalists did record failures of their own - though those lapses were evidently at least partially exacerbated by the drivers giving-in to their instinct to tromp on the brake pedal. Interestingly, Volvo officials themselves cautioned us in advance that the system may not always detect the dummy's presence, in part because it doesn't mimic the behavior of a human (the Pedestrian Detection system is trained to look for human movements - arms swaying, legs moving, and so on). In fact, when we asked if the system would also detect and activate when animals are in the road, officials said that the safety feature has not yet been trained to do so - it is only capable of registering bipeds.

As you may recall, this is not the first failure of Volvo's new auto-stop impact avoidance systems. Back in May, we told you about another incident in which an S60's City Safety auto-brake system test resulted in the car plowing into the back of a semi truck. Volvo would apparently later state that the crash was caused by a 'low-voltage event' in the car's electrical system that turned the rear-impact avoidance system off, a flaw that has since been repaired.

Follow the jump to watch videos of the PSD failures as well as an official Volvo video explaining how the system is designed to work.

[Sources: Car Advice, YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Volvo suffers another auto-stop safety system failure in public fashion

Video: Volvo suffers another auto-stop safety system failure in public fashion originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Volvo S60 hands-on demonstration w/video

Dan Roth — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Technology, Volvo

2011 Volvo S60 T5 in action - click above for high-res image gallery

An impact with an automobile will crack a human's bones like lobster claws at a clambake; an outcome Volvo aims to fight with technology. Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, a system that uses radar and cameras to stop the car and avert mauling pedestrians, makes its debut on the 2011 Volvo S60. While a visit to the recent Wellesley, Massachusetts stop of the Naughty Volvo Tour at Lee Imported Cars didn't net us any wheel time, we got our first chance to get hands-on with the new S60 outside of a convention hall.

Make the jump for the full story.

Gallery: 2011 Volvo S60 demonstration

Continue reading 2011 Volvo S60 hands-on demonstration w/video

2011 Volvo S60 hands-on demonstration w/video originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.K.-based team develops hood-mounted airbag for pedestrian safety

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Safety

These days, it's nearly impossible to find a new automobile that doesn't come equipped with a barrage of airbags to keep the driver and passengers safe in the event of an crash. That's all well and good, but what about the pedestrians that happen to be in the vehicle's line of fire?

A team in the U.K., led by Roger Hardy of Cranfield University, has developed a new hood-mounted airbag system that would theoretically improve the safety of pedestrians that come face-to-face with the windshield of your car. When not in use, the U-shaped airbag hides away underneath the car's hood at the base of the windshield and doesn't restrict the driver's view.

Just prior to impact, the airbag would deploy to protect the unfortunate pedestrian from making contact with the car's windshield or A-pillars. At the same time, the car's hood would rise to provide added crumple room over the engine compartment. The team believes its system could be put into production within five years without a substantial increase in cost while cutting pedestrian injuries in half.

[Source: Telegraph]

U.K.-based team develops hood-mounted airbag for pedestrian safety originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 May 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act introduced to protect the blind from quiet cars

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:27:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Green

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for a high-res image gallery

According to the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, just introduced by U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), "New vehicles that employ hybrid or electric engine technology can be silent, rendering them extremely dangerous in situations where vehicles and pedestrians come into proximity with each other."

For this reason, the aforementioned bipartisan bill would require that the government "conduct a study on how to protect the blind and others from being injured or killed by vehicles using hybrid, electric, and other silent engine technologies." Companies like Lotus Engineering and Harmon International are already one step ahead of this legislation with products intended to add some extra sound to silent vehicles.

Interestingly, it was just over a year ago that the last study into the dangers of hybrid and electric vehicles was started as directed by the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, leaving us to wonder what progress, if any, has been made on the issue over the last year.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius - First Drive

Continue reading Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act introduced to protect the blind from quiet cars

Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act introduced to protect the blind from quiet cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jaguar XK outside favorite, wins top safety award

Chris Paukert — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 08:03:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Safety, Technology, Jaguar

Plowing into pedestrians is best avoided altogether, but if there's no way around it them, ambulatory targets will appreciate it those thoughtful enough to be driving a new Jaguar XK.

That's the word, as the World Traffic Safety Symposium (WTSS) has just granted Jaguar's revitalized coupe its highest award for pedestrian safety. How'd it manage that? With a little help from an explosive hood. As with the Citroen C6 sedan, after an impact is sensed, small pyrotechnic charges push the trailing edge of the hood (near the base of the windshield) upwards, creating an impact-absorbing zone for the unfortunate victims.

[Sources: WhatCar?; Jaguar]

Jaguar XK outside favorite, wins top safety award originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Apr 2006 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York Auto Show: Audi's TT latest in auto erotic couture

Chris Paukert — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 17:33:00 EST

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Trends, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Audi, Cadillac

Audi's 2007 TT coupe received a suitably haute couture introduction in the fashion capitol of North America, New York City. Flanked by coathanger models wrapped in the latest stylings of designer Doo.Ri Chung, the press conference also featured an appearance by German supermodel Tatjana Patitz, lending it an indisputable Sex And The City quality.

We've already hipped readers to the TT's official technical specs, so we'll commence with first impressions in the metal. As we've said, Audi obviously had its hands full trying to replace arguably the most aesthetically cohesive and important automobile design of the last quarter century. Given the company's obsession with integrating the questionable 'single frame' grille, along with the necessary increase in dimensions to accommodate everything from pedestrian safety regs to increases in space, they've done a fine job. It remains indisputably a TT, with fine detailing inside-and-out, including pretty rear light fixtures with rectilinear internal lenses with clandestine amber turn signals. Also well hidden is the retractable rear winglet, which increases downforce at speed without blighting the rump of the TT (as the previous iteration's hastily added spoiler did).

(Click through to the jump for more commentary, press release and 20 additional images, many high-res!)

Continue reading New York Auto Show: Audi's TT latest in auto erotic couture

New York Auto Show: Audi's TT latest in auto erotic couture originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Apr 2006 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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