Are cars too safe for our own good?

This week Bosch, the company that first developed the 'Electronic Stability Programme' (ESP) for cars, claimed that ESP could help save around 500 lives in the UK each year.

Its conclusion followed the publication of major studies by DaimlerChrysler - the makers of Mercedes Benz cars - and Toyota into accidents involving their vehicles.

ESP detects 'understeer' or 'oversteer' in a vehicle and can control braking and engine power, in order to either prevent a skid happening, or help a driver get out of one. In essence, the system can subtly slow down or quicken individual wheels on the car to stop it leaving the road - and is particularly effecting in poor driving conditions.

Mercedes Benz has installed ESP on all its vehicles since 2000, making it the ideal proving ground for statistical studies. Mercedes found that accidents where drivers lost control without any intervention from others have actually reduced by 30% compared with previous models without ESP. A separate study by Toyota showed that its Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) - Toyota's version of ESP - has reduced driving accidents with severe or moderate vehicle damage by as much as 50% and the number of people injured and killed by 35%.

Research from Germany suggests that 43% of all road traffic deaths and 20% of injuries occur as a result of the driver losing control of his vehicle without the involvement of other vehicles.

Manfred Muller, managing director of Bosch Original Equipment Division in the UK, said: "If we apply the statistics from these studies to UK accident figures they suggest there is potential for saving 500 lives and preventing 2,000 serious injuries and 20,000 casualties in total every year.

"Even if these numbers appear somewhat optimistic, we surely cannot ignore the immense value of this technology, and the contribution its wider adoption can make to safety on our roads. If we are in any way serious about active road safety then I believe we should all be striving to promote increased fitment levels of ESP well beyond the current level in the UK of 12%.

"ABS has been with us for 25 years this year, and as of next year all new cars manufactured in Europe will have ABS as standard. Worldwide, manufacturers are taking ESP up at five times the rate they did ABS so I hope to see ESP as universal fit in the near future."

Too safe for our own good?

From its research into 1 million road accidents Toyota concluded that VSC was "particularly effective in preventing accidents caused by driver error."

However a leading motoring journalist this week warned that cars may be becoming "too clever" and that as a result, drivers are in danger of losing their sensitivity to driving conditions and their involvement with the basic workings of the vehicle.

Writing in the Guild of Experienced Motorists (GEM) magazine "Good Motoring" Peter Knivett accepted that developments such as anti-lock brakes and air bags had saved lives, but added he was "increasingly concerned" by the reliance on electronics at every level of the motoring experience.

"From starting the engine to checking the oil, water and tyre pressure, our responsibilities as car drivers can easily be absolved," he said. "We place a great responsibility on the ability of the car manufacturer's electronics' design department.

"Wouldn't it be better to further develop our in-built human sensors by training and education in aspects of careful driving and simple preventative maintenance?"

Harking back to days gone by he suggested that a combined use of the choke, throttle and starter made the driver much more aware of changes in the weather and their effects on vehicle performance.

He added: "Today, this and other vital links between a driver and the outside environment have been lost and as manufacturers increase the complexity of modern cars, drivers are increasingly insulated from significant factors such as weather conditions, with their important potential effects on vehicle safety."

Mr Knivett also argued that the proliferation of warning lights covering every aspect of a car's operation meant few motorists lift the bonnet between services and that can mean a gap of 20,000 miles before vital fluids are checked, unless a warning light comes on.

Safety on our roads

In 2002 there were 221,751 road accidents in the UK involving personal injury. In total, there were 302,605 casualties on roads - 3,431 people were killed, 35,976 were seriously injured and 263,198 were slightly injured.

As well as collecting such statistics the Department for Transport (DFT) commissions a wide range of research projects, covering both the immediate cause of accidents and behavioural trends.

Contrary to popular belief, speed is not the greatest cause of accidents. Inattention is the greatest single factor, accounting for 28% of crashes. Inattention is caused by a wide array of things, including tiredness, mobile phones, drink, drugs, noisy children and many other factors. Inattention is also responsible for pedestrians' behavioural failures, mainly entering the carriageway carelessly. Misjudging the speed or path of other road users is the next greatest cause, at 21%.

In absolute terms, young drivers have three to four times as many accidents a year as older drivers. Young driver accidents also have different characteristics, particularly single vehicle accidents involving loss of control, excess speed for conditions, accidents during the hours of darkness and on rural roads, as well as accidents while making right turns.

Work commissioned by the DFT has also shown that even after their greater annual mileage is taken into account, fleet drivers have up to 50% more accidents than private drivers. Tiredness accounts for 20% of accidents in this group. It is also about twice as likely to result in death or serious injury compared with other contributory factors. Most (82%) of the drivers involved in these accidents are men and half are under 30 years of age.

Johnny Thomson