Better car safety? Simplicity itself….
Posted on May 4th, 2012
It’s not often that the forces of IT and agriculture are united, but in its quest for agrarian supremacy, North Korea has devised a novel (if slightly odd) method to help educate its children in the ways of farming. Using an ’80s style monitor along with the gutted chassis of a Soviet-era tractor, it has created a unique computerised simulator in an attempt to help school children learn the ways of their forefathers. Admitedly, it lacks the form factor of the latest GPS devices, but it does have a certain retro charm.
Despite its somewhat Heath Robinson appearance, the contraption apparently makes a dramatic difference in a school curriculum which has a strong practical emphasis on trade skills and vocational work. Pupils learn how to plough virtual fields whilst their counterparts in Europe learn how to mow down innocent pedestrians via the likes of the popular video game, Grand Theft Auto. Okay, perhaps that’s a slightly implausible comparison, but it is somewhat indicative of a disparity between our respective cultures.
Moreover, it begs the question of why we aren’t more proactive in our use of technology in the quest for safer roads. The driving test has incorporated a hazard perception assessment for a good many years, but the process hardly replicates experiences on the road.
Watching a selection of video clips and clicking a mouse button when you see a dangerous (or blindingly obvious) situation is hardly representative of modern driving conditions. For today’s youth, it may be slightly more realistic if it was done under the influence of a Greggs’ stake bake, whilst thumbing through a Sat Nav menu and composing a text message. With such a multi-sensory world of gadgets and computer tech, it’s little wonder that as many as twenty percent of young drivers have had an accident. In fact, a recent study found that some 13.2% of 17 year old drivers and 12.85% of 18 year old drivers have been involved in collisions. This is considerably higher than the average 6.5% across all other age groups for a similar one-year period. So, what’s to be done?
Well, I’d humbly suggest that the use of sophisticated simulator technology could make a considerable difference to the safety record of the nation’s youth. Although we often hear stories of irresponsible driving at silly speeds, such situations are, thankfully, the exception.
According to Direct Line, the primary cause of accidents amongst young drivers is lack of experience. This leads to either a dangerous overconfidence, or a panic situation, where a lack of familiarity with the road ensures bad situations get worse very quickly. The solution, it would seem, is to allow young drivers to clock up more hours practice without putting them in harm’s way. Commercial airline pilots need to log in more than 250 hours’ on the flight deck before they get their license and even then, they’ll be accompanied by a senior first offer or captain until they get to the point they can command their own airliner.
Of course, airplanes are slightly more advanced than the humble motorcar, which certainly doesn’t cost anywhere near the amount of your average 747 (unless you’ve just filled your tank, in which case it comes close). Finding an effective and inexpensive system that accurately recreates some of the scenarios today’s young drivers are likely to face surely isn’t beyond the scope of man. So perhaps it’s time we invested in rolling out a series of driving simulators that will let young drivers rack up a few more miles without the exorbitant costs of driving lessons…or filling up at the forecourt.
A one hit wonder
Posted on April 30th, 2012
Whether it’s the latest GPS system, or most advanced in car entertainment, we at Auto Alert are unreservedly car tech geeks. So it’s edifying when we come across a story that looks likely to make a real difference to the lives of road users.
Volvo has often been selected as the family favourite when it comes to high technology and in-car safety. However, news just in from Volvo is that they are also concerned about safety on the other side of the bonnet, on the outside of the car. This means making pedestrian safety more important.
With this in mind this Swedish car manufacturer has developed an external airbag so that any pedestrian or cyclist who may be hit by the vehicle in an accident, will have the impact cushioned.
Of course, it will only be a matter of time before the technology is taken up by other manufacturers. Hardly surprising when Volvo reckon the air bag could save lives in 85% of accidents which would otherwise cause fatality.
Volvo fit a series of sensors to the front bumper and these can detect how hard an object is in a crash situation. If the sensor records the object is soft like a human limb and the car is travelling between 12 and 31 mph, the air bag inflates and will burst through the bonnet of the car, covering the windscreen. This would then help prevent a pedestrian’s head from hitting the windscreen and metal surround. In addition the bonnet would be lifted up by 4inches which would create a cushion above the engine.
They have also developed a pedestrian detector system that can recognise when a person is in the road immediately ahead or about to step into the path of the car. In this case an alarm sounds, the driver is alerted and brakes automatically applied if a crash is unavoidable.
As Thomas Broberg, Volvo’s senior safety advisor commented: ‘We believe this can substantially reduce the number of serious injuries sustained by pedestrians.
If the speed of the vehicle is reduced by the automatic braking from 40mph to 30 mph, allowing the airbag to inflate from under the bonnet, it’s easy to see the possible effect. The two devices used together could significantly reduce pedestrian casualty rates.
Duncan Vernon of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents stated: ‘the introduction of vehicle technology, such as seat belts and airbags, which reduce the severity of injuries to car occupants is one of the success stories of road safety.
‘However, there is potential to improve vehicle design to improve protection for vulnerable road users who are struck by vehicles, and we welcome technology which does this.’
When one thinks how ubiquitous GPS is, the deployment of even more advanced technology and the difference it could make to the safety of motorists is considerable.
Switch on the autopilot
Posted on April 20th, 2012
If the boss of Ford has predicted correctly, within a decade motorists might be driving like a pilot flies an aeroplane: by switching to a GPS powered autopilot. Bill Ford Jnr is the great grandson of Henry Ford, the guy who transformed the car from a rich man’s toy to everyday transport within reach of millions. He has announced his vision for the future after declaring that dramatic advances in technology will be needed to cope with the global rise in cars from 1 billion now to 4 billion by 2050.
Apparently some of these advances are already in the pipeline, fuelled by this prediction. I daresay, if this autopilot facility catches on, we would then dispense with hands free mobiles as we’ll have our hands free anyway.
Mr Ford was addressing the 2012 Mobile World Congress in sunny Barcelona. “Cars are becoming mobile communications platforms,” he said. “Right now there are a billion computing devices in the form of individual vehicles out on our roads. They’re largely unconnected from one another and the network. We’ll increasingly take advantage of the car as a rolling collection of sensors to reduce congestion and help prevent accidents.
“I’m confident that we will see many of these advances on the road in this mid-term period (between 2017 and 2025) because the early versions are already being designed and, in most cases, tested.”
I guess it’s fuel for thought and sceptics will automatically dismiss the idea as they did Satnavs and GPS devices.
The birth of this new generation has already happened. Ford’s B-Max is being launched at the Geneva motor show and goes on sale in September in the UK. This family car is the first in Europe to be fitted with new SYNC mobile technology which automatically alerts the emergency services in an accident. Drivers can also use voice commands to control the in-car entertainment system.
It’s unclear just how many will steer clear of this new technology.
Can I have a lift?
Posted on April 11th, 2012
A recent report suggests that Japanese engineers, led by Dr. Oyayashi, are working on high rise plans to build a lift into outer space. Now that really is a global positioning system…and certainly a smidgen more advanced than a TomTom.
I’m not sure this is such a good idea. The assumption is that around 30 passengers at a time can travel in the lift for a cool 22,000 mile journey at an elegant speed of 120mph and this will take a week to complete.
Now, a week may be a long time in politics but it’s going to be one awfully long week in a lift. Being stuck in a car for a few hours, even with GPS, is bad enough. And I don’t suppose there’ll be many stops en route to let people out and welcome new ones in.
The idea is that once they arrive ‘at the top’ they will step out into some kind of space station. They can then admire the spectacular post card views just like any discerning tourist. So in other words, an aerial view of earth and its surroundings – as far as the eye can see, I guess.
Dr. Oyayashi hasn’t made it clear what else these space tourists will do after staring into space to admire the view. Will there be post cards on sale? If so, will you be able to send them back down to earth on a lift ahead of your returning lift? Given that there won’t be much for you to do in space on a space station, I imagine within 10 minutes, you’ll be bored by the view; you will then be stepping back onto the lift for the week long downward descent back to Earth. Doors opening, mind the gap.
The other slight niggle I have is that the atmosphere in most lift journeys can be decidedly awkward. Conversation grinds to a halt and woe betide anyone who attempts to chat to their neighbour. Most people stand rigidly tense, desperately trying to avoid glances. Sometimes, admittedly, it’s difficult to stop yourself from goo-gooing at the baby in the pram who’s staring straight at you as if you are a monster from outer space. So you try to watch in dignified silence as the numbers go up or down and you reach your level. How will you do that with Ground floor….22,000 miles…top floor? There’s going to be a long, claustrophobic bit in between…and probably not many babies.
And supposing the lift gets stuck somewhere midway? Will there be stairs in place beside the lift shaft and how good will the access be? How long is it going to take the repair man to arrive? Oh, and what will people do for refreshments, laundry and washing facilities on the way up, or down?
To allow for the possibility of getting lost in space, will it be equipped with a SatNav or GPS device? I, for one, won’t be offering to be called out to fit one. I’d rather admire the unspectacular view of London skyscrapers from the office window.
Who on earth will be racing to get tickets for this lift to nowhere?
A driving hit…or miss
Posted on March 30th, 2012
I’m treading on tentative ground here, so I shall choose my words very, very carefully. But it seems that behind the age-old stereotype that women aren’t very good at parking, a shred of truth might lurk. I don’t speak from personal experience, you understand. Nevertheless, one of the benefits of being a GPS evangelist is that any calls to “get lost” are rather redundant: I shall always be able to find my way back home safely. Whether or not I make it to my front door, after this post, is another matter; global positioning systems don’t yet have the ability to warn you of imminent death by skinning.
Women, it seems, just aren’t as good as men at parking. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t prejudice speaking: this is cold, hard fact, disclosed by no less an authority than the Driving Standards Agency. For it seems that ladies are twice as likely as men to fail their driving test for terrible reversing. Indeed, the figures are incontrovertible: with a total of 40,863 women failing last year for not controlling their car while reverse parking, compared with 18,798 men.
Overall, women made some 942,000 serious or dangerous errors which caused them to fail the rigorous exam. My inner Bernard Manning is tempted to say this figure represents the average per candidate, but frankly I fear for my safety. In point of fact, us blokes don’t fare much better: we clocked in with just over 718,000 serious errors.
The most frequent reason for failure by either sex was failing to look properly at junctions: with 112,185 women and 88,990 men failing the necessary standard. In the car, as in life, it seems that both sexes have their strengths and weaknesses. Women were more likely to be marked down for failing to control their car properly when changing gears and turning, whilst men were much more likely to flunk the exam due to speeding, not obeying road signs or failing to heed traffic lights.
In fact, slightly over 5 per cent of men failed their test almost as soon as it had started, by not moving off with necessary caution.
The difference between the sexes’ driving styles has long been the subject of many a pub discussion and, interestingly, quite a few scientific studies. Researchers at the Ruhr University Bochum, in Germany, set 65 volunteers the task of parking a £23,000 Audi and discovered that women took, on average, 20 seconds longer than men. Hardly what one would call scientific.
Perhaps more credible is research carried out by the University of Warwick psychologist Dr Zachary Estes. His study suggests that confidence might be at the heart of the matter. His tests have shown that a lack of confidence is a significant factor in women’s tendency to struggle in tasks that required elevated levels of spatial awareness. Most significantly, notable increases in ability were evidenced when self-belief was boosted.
It would therefore seem that, once again, in driving, as in life, it’s us men who are to blame.
Another cost to the UK motorist…and not just measured in pounds.
Posted on March 26th, 2012
It sounds like something British motorists will be queuing up to support, but at its heart it contains a fallacy that could easily ratchet up the costs for all of us. I’m talking about the recent EU proposal to scrap the annual UK MOT. Despite rapid advances in GPS and other motoring technolgy, our representatives in Westminster seem set on turning back the clock a few decades.
Alarmingly, one in three cars fails its first MOT after just 3 years on the road. Yet though most of us are too busy to maintain our cars in between annual tests, the EU is attempting to impose a regime that tests our cars every other year, starting once they are 4 years old.
The UK currently employs what’s known as the 3-1-1 model – basically, that means a car has to be tested after three years and then every year after that. Under the new MOT proposals, tests would fall in line with other EU countries, such as France. This would mean a car wouldn’t need its first test until it had been on the road for four years, with subsequent tests every two.
The plans will mean many more unsafe cars on our roads and an increase in accidents as a result (with a wealth of data to prove this). That’s to say nothing of the 1000s of jobs lost in the UK’s motor industry at a time when the economy is already plagued by woe.
Of course, we now have a new Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, so it will be interesting to see how her stewardship influences the course of this new proposal. I don’t envy her having to get to grips with this and such other red herring issues thrown into the mix, like increasing the speed limit on motorways.
Whilst VOSA is changing the existing UK MOT model to include other items, this new slew of ideas from the EU will mean that the administrative burden on the UK motor industry will actually increase and at the expense of road safety. Both these factors will of course be passed on in the form of higher charges for motorists, who will effectively be supporting the bad cars and poor drivers who now have a lighter administrative burden.
This is the worst scenario for this change, which will come in through the UK’s back door, but one which is actually looking quite likely. Whilst no-one is standing guard, it may be that we have another cost added to our already ballooning road costs. In which case, mark my words, the cost of this EU interference could well be lost British lives on our roads and lost MOT industry jobs.
Driving too slowly at 80
Posted on March 16th, 2012
GPS is great, but it can’t solve all our motoring problems. Elderly drivers can be the bane of the time pressed motorist and many drivers frequently report about their frustration rising at roundabouts, cursing at the cool cruiser, whilst fuming in the fast lane. The DVLA has recently confirmed that the number of drivers on UK roads over 80 has now topped one million for the first time. The information, released following a Freedom of Information request by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, shows that there are now some 1,012,399 octogenarian drivers, including 122 license holders over 100, alongside three 105 year olds and one lady of 106.
Given that the first driving test was introduced to the UK in 1934, many of these drivers may not even have sat for one. In fact, the minimum age for a driving license has been 17 since the 1903 Motor Cars Act. This also increased the maximum speed limit from 14mph to a blistering 20mph. The youngest of these centenarians may well have taken their first spin at a time when going faster than a bicycle resulted in imprisonment and a global positioning system consisted of a bit of magnetised metal stuck on the end of a pin.
Of course many drivers of all ages sometimes drive as if they have never taken a test. However, the UK’s stringent driving test includes a hazard perception, theory and practical assessments, and also includes questions on car maintenance.
Most significantly, the test has recently been bolstered by a range of more demanding independent thinking scenarios, where candidates are asked to navigate towards a destination no more than 10 minutes away using a set of memorised directions or road signs. The idea is to more closely emulate the real conditions of the road where a newly qualified driver has to cope with getting from A to B without the mental prompt of such easy to follow instructions as “turn left at the T junction”. This is to make our roads safer and ensure that the number of people killed in traffic accidents continues to fall.
However this does little to address the millions of UK drivers whose age or complacency means that they’re not as vigilant as they once were.
Most mature drivers are very aware of safety, care and consideration to their fellow road users. However, when it comes to road safety, the reality is that as we get older, our reaction times and reflexes slow and our ability to cope with new situations decreases.
Drivers over 70 have to reapply for their driving license every three years. This will invariably mean that many stretch the truth when it comes to providing an objective statement of health concerns. Yet, the alternative may not be so practical either. Faced with the cost of re-taking a driving test, along with the administrative burden, many good elderly drivers could easily be deterred from taking the test; they would then lose a much needed sense of independence. So perhaps it’s time we started to employ cutting edge technology. Several insurance companies are now offering reduced premiums to younger drivers if they agree to have a GPS powered black box installed. By monitoring factors such as speed, cornering and acceleration, the insurance bigwigs can calculate an individual risk factor over a period of time. Given that such technology already exists on the market, it would be quite simple to adapt this and deploy in a situation where it’s used to help gauge competency. It would spare good drivers of whatever age from taking expensive and meaningless tests, whilst ensuring the roads stay safe for the rest of us.
Let me hear your thoughts…
It’s a small world
Posted on March 9th, 2012
There’s nothing like modern day convenience, such as GPS, when it comes to motoring. And there’s nothing like the Isle of Man, to be the original brainstorm behind some little big thinking. Hooray for the Manx (though you might need a Sat Nav to find them). What with Fairies under the bridge that every passing motorist absolutely has to say ‘hello’ to, or risk bad luck, they certainly know a thing or two about manufacturing. Where else can you go to see the largest working waterwheel in the world or watch one of the few remaining skilled Manx handloom weavers?
Now let’s talk Peel. This is the place on the westerly tip of the Isle of Man where sunsets are just plain glorious as the sun sinks below Ireland, just a hop across the sea.
Well, the Peel Car could be the big thing. This car is the born again version of a quintessentially British classic that was made on the Isle of Man between1962-1965. It has more pulling power than a Ferrari but as only 50 were produced, it never got far beyond the grid. This little cutie is just big enough to take all the fairies in one bridge hop; it could also take you straight from the road right up to your desk, via the office canteen of course, for a quick coffee stop on the way.
It is being re-manufactured as the P50 Peel Car by two enthusiastic entrepreneurs who recently won backing by Dragon’s Den investor, James Caan. Yes, this could see the boss installing no parking signs by the lift. You cruise in through the door, fresh from the road, a straight line to the lifts, out onto the carpet tiles; by passing the water cooler, off you go, steady along the corridor. Oops, watch the girl from accounts doing a spot of photo-copying, best give her a quick blow on the horn. Toot, toot.
It’s the world’s smallest production car and you can do a quick 3 point manoeuvre and park it right beside your desk. Drive out into the traffic after work and you’re sure to be in the centre lane of attention. However, whilst you can drive from London to Bristol on just 1 gallon of petrol, you won’t be allowed on the motorway.
A limited edition is being planned before the go ahead is given to produce a viable everyday motor micro car which would be hand built in Britain; what a snip at just £15k each or more than £100,000k for an original in mint condition.
Get out the SatNav, P50 Peel Car drivers, and if it doesn’t drive you round the bend, make sure it doesn’t drive you into a large puddle. Come to think about it, the boss might need a good tracking device too, to send him alerts of exactly where you are located, in case you get lost…in the office.
Personalised Speeding
Posted on February 24th, 2012
After the remarkably un-bureaucratic government proposal to increase the speed limit on motorways to 80mph, a new report has been published decrying the move. The report’s authors claim that a speed increase would be bad for the country on many levels, most importantly by increasing road fatalities and harming the environment.
Public health experts writing in an online report for the British Medical Journal say they are amazed the government would even consider such a proposal given that there is clear research showing an “exponential” link between increasing the speed limit and the number of road fatalities. The journal cites evidence that when similar increases were introduced in the US in 1995, fatalities in road accidents increased by 16.6%. Moreover, the report argued that as heavy goods vehicles would still be capped at 60mph, there was little weight to the argument that a speed increase would help improve economic output by helping to ‘get Britain moving’. However, inevitably, if the speed limit is set to 80mph, more people will feel they can get away with driving even faster and reckless drivers will be more likely to risk lives.
Maybe the answer to ‘gridlock Britain’ is actually more scientific than simply legislating for greater speed. Perhaps GPS is the answer….
Industry experts have been advocating the roll out of intelligent transportation systems based on GPS for years. There are, of course, many different models for how this could work, but loosely speaking, it would mean that all commercial traffic was centrally monitored so that companies or even individuals could be given a better insight into the most efficient routes and travel times. Variable speed limits are something we’ve had for a number of years – having been introduced on the M25 way back in 1995. This immediately brought down journey times, increased smoother flowing traffic (thus helping the environment) and boosted road safety. So I propose we adopt something similar: with a national motorway network of variable speed limits, made possible by individual GPS units which not only allow a national computer to calculate the most efficient way of controlling traffic, but also recommend an optimised route to individuals based on traffic conditions. This way, you might not find yourself taking your customary route to work, but you will at least get there faster and considerably safer.
The status quo clearly isn’t practical anymore. It’s absurd to have a notional national speed limit which amounts to little more than a legal fiction, given that most people flout it so consistently. Currently, guidelines from the Association of Chief Police Officers recommend that a Fixed Penalty Notice be applied to all speeding offences which are more than 10% + 2mph over the speed limit, which means that on a motorway and in the absence of aggravating circumstances, like fog or ice, you’ll only get a fine if you’re doing 79 or above. But the problem is that speeding is a strict liability offence and so you don’t really know where you stand. Introducing a GPS variable speed limit would at least end the uncertainty surrounding the current speed limit which is consistently flouted by even the most cautious drivers. But most significantly, a nationally monitored intelligent transportation system, based on GPS, would help control traffic for a smoother, safer and faster journey.
More to insure
Posted on February 20th, 2012
Insurance is the bane of any motorist…except those that don’t have any and leave the rest of us to pay the cost. So it’s hardly surprising to learn that insurance costs over the past year have rapidly outpaced inflation. According to research complied by price comparison website, confused.com, an average policy in the UK now costs a staggering £844. Working in collaboration with global consultancy, Towers Watson, the high profile website published its research and revealed that the price inflation doesn’t consistently apply throughout the country. In fact, there is quite a difference between the rises, depending on what part of the country your Sat Nav has directed you to. In Bradford, for example, car insurance rose by a rather eye watering 17.1%, while forty miles south-west, Bolton was up by 11.7%. Interestingly, in a few rare parts of the country, costs actually went down, with Falkirk in Scotland leading the pack with a drop of 4.6%. Indeed, the Scots largely managed to dodge the price hikes and residents in Edinburgh were equally lucky in seeing their premiums falls by 3.7%.
Yet despite the good news for a lucky few, most areas saw considerable rises, with comprehensive insurance increasing by an average of 4.9%, whilst third party, fire and theft premiums rose by 10.2%. Postcodes which had the fastest rising prices included Oldham, Manchester, East London, Liverpool and Birmingham, where a spate of nefarious insurance claims by organised gangs of criminals has helped push premiums higher.
However, the fact that this postcode lottery is disproportionately affecting those in inner cities looks likely to further widen the gap between rich and poor, the latter finding it increasingly more expensive to use any form of transport now that train tickets have seen a hike of 2% above inflation. So, something clearly needs to be done and the answer is, as usual, GPS. Because the use of black box technology, such as that being pioneered by the Co-Op, will link premiums to the actual driving patterns of the individual and not just where they live. Factors such as the time of day a customer chooses to drive, their speed and even braking, acceleration and cornering will be taken into account when calculating an individual cost. As such, this is a premium that won’t be affected by having to subsidies moronic yahoos without either insurance or sense. Handy for those of us who live in West London (and further afield).
