Road casualty figures show that people in the UK are as likely to be killed or seriously injured outside of a motor vehicle as inside one. Figures for 2005 show that 32,155 people were killed or seriously injured on the country’s roads. A breakdown of that figure reveals that 7,129 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured (22.1%); 6,508 motorcyclists (20.2%) and 2,360 cyclists (7.3%).

The remaining 50% of killed or seriously injured casualties were car, commercial vehicle, bus and coach drivers and occupants, according to Department for Transport figures. Pedestrian casualties last year accounted for 12% of all road casualties and 21% of all road deaths. A total of 671 pedestrians were killed, a figure unchanged from 2004; 6,458 were seriously injured (2004: 6,807) and 26,152 slightly injured (2004: 27,403). Pedal cycle casualties fell from 16,648 in 2004 to 16,561 last year, but the number of fatalities increased from 134 to 148 and the number of serious injuries rose from 2,174 to 2,212. Finally, the number of motorcycle fatalities last year fell from 585 to 569, serious injuries fell to 5,939 (2004: 6,063) and slight injuries dropped to 14,201 (2004: 14,340).

The new Lexus LS 460's advanced pre-crash safety system

Data reveals that only the Netherlands and Sweden among European Union countries have fewer road deaths per 100,000 people than Britain. However, when analysing pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people, while the Netherlands and Sweden remain at numbers one and two in the rankings Britain drops to eighth behind Denmark, Finland, France, Belgium and Germany. Meanwhile, when only taking account of child pedestrian deaths Britain falls even further in the charts. Against that background, it is little surprise that legislators are focusing on encouraging manufacturers to make vehicles more “friendly” towards so-called vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Organisers of the European New Car Assessment Programme, which crash tests cars and gives them a rating for pedestrian protection, as well as occupant and child protection, to help consumers choose the safest vehicles, have been frequent critics of carmakers for failing to design models to safeguard vulnerable road users from death or serious injury in the event of a crash. Meanwhile, new European Commission legislation, which is being introduced in two phases, is aimed at forcing manufacturers to design vehicles that protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists against head and leg injuries. The first phase is already in place and the second phase is due for introduction in 2010.

In the construction of vehicles, the major sources of adult head injuries are the top surface of the bonnet/ wing, the windscreen area and the A-pillars; for child injuries it is the bonnet/wing; and for adult leg injuries it is the front bumper.

Ford’s Iosis X's pedestrian-friendly design

Citroën, Honda and Jaguar have been at the forefront of manufacturers designing cars to meet the first phase of the new legislation with the C6, Accord and XK, respectively, all featuring “pop-up” bonnets. Euro NCAP chairman Professor Claes Tingvall says: “There is a clear difference emerging between those car manufacturers who are trying to improve the protection their cars offer to pedestrians and those who still see that as a low priority. There is no excuse for the very low levels of performance we have seen in this phase. There is no reason why cars cannot now provide a high level of protection to all road users.”

Last year, the C6 became the first car in the history of Euro NCAP to be awarded the maximum four-star rating for pedestrian protection. “Pop-up” bonnets are designed to create a cushioning effect between the engine and the bonnet itself in a crash with a pedestrian thus helping to prevent serious injuries. During an accident, the lack of space between the bonnet and the engine increases the likelihood of a serious head injury for the pedestrian. In the Citroën, Honda and Jaguar, intelligent software automatically raises the bonnet in the event of an accident to provide previously unavailable impact-absorbing space.

By ensuring surfaces deform on impact and creating space behind impact areas such as bonnets, wings and bumpers and in front of hard areas, manufacturers can reduce pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist fatalities and serious injuries. Ford’s new crossover concept, the Iosis X, which debuted at September’s Paris Motor Show and is the forerunner to a new model that will be on sale in 18 months, features a distinctive approach to front overhang and headlamp design, which the manufacturer admits has been influenced by the forthcoming tougher pedestrian impact legislation.

The model’s front corners are aggressively chamfered, reducing the visual size of the overhang, while the large headlamps follow the chamfering into the front wings, resulting in a very distinctive, kicked-back appearance. Front of vehicle bumper, bonnet – manufacturers are developing a front-bonnet airbag – windscreen and windscreen wiper design will increasingly be influenced by the tough new tests to reduce vulnerable road user injuries, but manufacturers also continue to introduce in-vehicle sensor technology designed to avoid a collision.

“Government road casualty statistics reveal that a person is equally likely to be killed or seriously injured if they are outside a motor vehicle as being inside one”

The new range-topping Lexus LS460, for example, is fitted with millimetre-wave radar and stereo cameras that detect a wide range of obstacles in the path of the vehicle, including, for the first time, pedestrians and animals at a distance of up to 25 metres. When there is a high probability of a collision, an alarm will prompt the driver to take evasive action. Meanwhile, the car’s driver monitoring system sees a miniature camera on the steering column constantly tracking the movement of the driver’s face. If an obstacle is detected in front of the vehicle when the driver is not looking ahead, the pre-crash alarm function will be triggered, and braking applied to alert the driver.

Volvo expects its recently unveiled “driver alert” technology to be debuting on vehicles within two years. It is designed to reduce the number of accidents caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel. Studies by the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University show that driver sleepiness is considered to claim more lives on roads than alcohol, and accounts for at least 10% of all road accidents and up to 20% of those on motorways and trunk roads.

The system uses a camera installed between the windscreen and the rear-view mirror, with a number of sensors and a processor, to constantly monitor the distance between the car and the road markings. If the vehicle is moving in an uncontrolled way, the system will alert the driver with an audible alert and message on the car’s information display panel before the driver falls asleep. The “driver alert” system also works if the driver loses concentration for some other reason, such as focusing too much attention on the navigation system, audio system or children in the car.

The technology also uses a visual method to prewarn the driver if they are getting tired and if their driving is becoming less controlled by displaying five illuminated stars at the start of the journey which slowly disappear if the driving becomes less controlled or consistent.

Mercedes-Benz says it has made a further, major contribution to reducing the risk of accidents during darkness with the introduction of a new night view assist system on the S-Class. Two infra-red headlamps illuminate the road, extending the driver’s range of vision to more than 150 metres when on low beam. Night view assist therefore makes pedestrians, cyclists, parked cars and other obstacles visible much sooner than with headlights alone. An infra-red camera mounted on the inside of the windscreen records the reflected image of the road ahead and displays this in the instrument cluster.

While initially passive pedestrian structural safety systems will see significant growth, the development of reliable pedestrian-sensing technologies will ensure substantial growth of active pedestrian safety systems to complement the more stringent, second phase of protection legislation after 2010. It is estimated that half the vehicles in the premium vehicles segment are likely to have some form of driver warning and information system by 2010.

Technologies will inevitably continue to debut on executive and luxury sector models so a key challenge facing carmakers is to reduce development and production costs so life-saving systems can be standard fit on all models. Head-up displays, night-time vision, directional adaptive front lights, lane-keeping assist systems, adaptive cruise control and more recently collision mitigation braking systems that predict collisions and warn the driver before taking evasive action by seizing control of the brakes, are among technologies that are available to help drivers both keep their eyes on the road ahead and advise on crash avoidance. And, in the future, mandatory daytime driving lights are on the legislators’ agenda.

Jim Kirkwood, managing director of risk management experts DriveTech (UK), says: “Government road casualty statistics reveal that a person is equally likely to be killed or seriously injured if they are outside a motor vehicle as being inside one. That’s why we believe that Euro NCAP ratings should play a vital role in helping fleet managers to make the right choice when deciding which vehicles should be placed on choice lists.”

With failing to look properly, which could also be construed as not paying attention, the most frequently reported contributory factor in UK road accidents, a combination of in-car technologies embracing smart cruise control, collision-avoidance mechanisms and pre-impact collision systems mated to vulnerable road-user vehicle friendly design should ensure that the number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists killed on the roads is reduced in the future.

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