A new study from just-auto.com has predicted that the number of vehicles fitted with electronic driver assistance systems will rise sharply over the next six years due to increased legislation relating to driver safety.
Bromsgrove, UK (PRWeb) March 13, 2007 -- A new study from www.just-auto.com has predicted that the number of vehicles fitted with electronic driver assistance systems will rise sharply over the next six years.
Road traffic accidents currently kill a person every minute around the world. However, considerable resources are being committed to reduce this shocking statistic. Initiatives such as the European Union's eSafety programme are in place while Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), lane departure warning systems, parking assistance systems, collision warning systems, night vision and other features are developing apace.
ACC first appeared in 1998 in the Mercedes-Benz S-class. Today, it is available on the Audi A8, BMW 5 and 7 Series, VW Phaeton, Cadillac XLR, Jaguar XKR and other vehicles. It also looks set to be the fastest growing of the driver assistance technologies. Furthermore, manufacturers are now developing systems capable of operating below 30 Km/h.
Good education essential ...
Looking forward, the major players face considerable challenges. A huge amount of work is needed to educate consumers. Unlike satellite navigation and in-car entertainment, the car buying public remains largely ill informed about driver assistance.
Rolf Adomat, head of development of driver assistance systems at Continental Automotive Systems explained "teaching dealerships and the end-customer is very important. While ABS and ESP are relatively easy to understand, ACC, lane departure systems and so on take longer. We have wonderful technology ... but few people are actually aware of it!"
Driver alerts without distraction ...
There is also a delicate balance to be reached between alerting drivers to danger and actually distracting them. Vibration, warning lights, head up displays and audible warnings are all being explored and researchers at Oxford University believe that vibratory alerts alone could cut accidents by 15%. Pioneered by the Citroen C4 and C5, these should be commonplace by 2010.
Koichi Fukaya, president and CEO of Denso Corp. provided an intriguing insight into other possible future developments when stating that "we see two major trends. The first will be to fully incorporate advanced intelligence into automobiles. The second will be to link intelligent vehicles to other such vehicles and roads."
By 2013, demand for ACC, lane departure and parking aids in Europe and Japan is predicted to grow by 150% and be worth almost 1.7 billion Euros.
Further details are available at http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?ID=90577
Notes:
1. About the report ...
The fully updated and revised just-auto 2007 Global market review of driver assistance systems - forecasts to 2013 provides sales volumes and values for Adaptive Cruise Control, lane departure warning systems and parking assistance systems from 2003 - 2013.
The market trends are examined alongside the views of leading manufacturers. An invaluable technical review takes a look at vibratory alerts, night vision systems and the 'car of tomorrow'.
2. About just-auto ...
Since 2001, www.just-auto.com has provided daily news and analysis on the global automotive market. Today, just-auto is the authoritative and timely source of business industry information and is the automotive industry's leading online resource.
###
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/Q3Jhcy1JbnNlLVpldGEtU3VtbS1NYWduLVplcm8=
|
