Project ‘SafeCar’

‘SafeCar’ project was conducted by the Victorian Transport Accident Commission (TAC)—the body responsible for insuring motor accident victims under Victoria’s ‘no fault’ insurance scheme.

TAC regularly undertakes road safety campaigns and joined with Monash University’s Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and the Ford Motor Company for the ‘SafeCar’ project.

DDDG was selected to integrate the various driver aids incorporated into the ‘SafeCar’ vehicles. These include forward looking radar providing ‘following distance’ data, active seatbelt reminder system, and GPS based dynamic ‘intelligent speed alert’. DDDG designed a customised package which provides power supplies, vehicle signal processing, real time data analysis and filtering, and user I/O including accelerator pedal feedback and audio alerts with voice messages to the driver. An auxiliary processor is activated when the vehicle is running to provide graphic displays to the driver, reference the digital map system and log all driving events for post analysis by MUARC.

All vehicle systems are dynamically enabled by software with individual driver profiles being stored on an active tag used to identify the current driver.

Numerous engineering issues arose during the project, including the need to comply with Australian Design Rules in the mounting of the driver display.

Demonstration vehicles were on display at the Intelligent Transport Systems Congress held in Sydney Australia during September 2001. DDDG designed and built a vehicle simulator for the congress. It replicates the features of ‘SafeCar’ in a static display.

Feature article here.

Final report here.

Project ‘SafeCar’

Motor vehicle accident researchers now have a new tool.

‘SafeCar’ incorporates ‘black box’ recorder technology

used to identify driving profiles.