91 Fahrzeugkonstruktion
The evaluation of the expected benefit of active safety systems or even ideas of future systems is challenging because this has to be done prospectively. Beside acceptance, the predicted real-world benefit of active safety systems is one of the most important and interesting measures. Therefore, appropriate methods should be used that meet the requirements concerning representativeness, robustness and accuracy. The paper presents the development of a methodology for the assessment of current and future vehicle safety systems. The variety of systems requires several tools and methods and thus, a common tool box was created. This toolbox consists of different levels, regarding different aspects like data sources, scenarios, representativeness, measures like pre-crash-simulations, automated crash computation, single-case-analyses or driving simulator studies. Finally, the benefit of the system(s) is calculated, e.g. by using injury risk functions; giving the number of avoided/mitigated accidents, the reduction of injured or killed persons or the decrease of economic costs.
Aufgabe der Studie war eine erstmalige umfassende Erhebung der Ausstattung der Pkw in Deutschland mit Fahrzeugsicherheitssystemen. Dazu wurden 5.070 Haushalte zur Ausstattung eines ihnen zur Verfügung stehenden Fahrzeugs befragt. Für die Befragung wurden 53 Fahrzeugsicherheitssysteme ausgewählt. Darunter sind neue Systeme wie Stauassistenten und Kreuzungsassistenten sowie auch weitgehend etablierte Systeme wie die Fahrdynamikregelung (ESP) und Airbags. Neben den Nutzern wurden auch Experten befragt, die beruflich mit dem Ein- oder Verkauf von Pkw für Unternehmensflotten befasst sind. Diese zehn qualitativen Interviews geben einen Einblick in die Bedeutung verschiedener Kriterien bei der Fahrzeugwahl und speziell den Stellenwert von Fahrzeugsicherheitssystemen. Die weiteste Verbreitung haben passive Sicherheitssysteme wie Airbags, die darauf abzielen, die Folgen eines Unfalls für die Beteiligten abzumildern. Aber auch aktive und intervenierende Systeme, die Risiken vermeiden oder einzelne Fahraufgaben übernehmen, gehören häufig zur Fahrzeugausstattung. Die häufigsten Vertreter aus dieser Gruppe sind der Bremsassistent, ESP und der Tempomat. Die meisten Fahrzeugsicherheitssysteme sind in Fahrzeugen der oberen Mittelklasse und Oberklasse zu finden. Mit der jährlichen Fahrleistung und der Nutzungshäufigkeit nimmt die Anzahl der Sicherheitssysteme ebenso zu wie bei jüngeren Fahrzeugen und Dienstwagen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen ein Muster: Sind Systeme insgesamt selten, unterscheiden sich die Anteile innerhalb der verschiedenen Fahrzeugsegmente teilweise erheblich. Neue Systeme sind dann in den Fahrzeugen der oberen Mittelklasse und Oberklasse deutlich häufiger zu finden und in den Minis und Kleinwagen teilweise mit nicht messbaren Anteilen. Die Experteninterviews, die mit Flottenbetreibern und Fahrzeugverkäufern geführt wurden, zeigen, dass solche Fahrzeugsicherheitssysteme in die Standardausstattung aufgenommen werden, deren Nutzen nachgewiesen ist.
The paper gives an overview of the recent (mostly 2012) figures of killed bus/coach occupants (drivers and passengers) in 27 Member States of the European Union as reported by CARE. The Evolution of the figures of bus/coach occupants killed in road accidents urban, rural without motorway and on motorways from 1991 to 2010 in 15 Member States of the EU supplements this information. More detailed are the figures reported for Germany by the Federal Statistics. The paper displays long-term evaluations (1957 to 2012) for killed, seriously and slightly injured occupants in all kinds of buses/coaches. Midterm evaluations (1995 to 2012) of the figures of fatalities and casualties are displayed for different busses according to their identification of road using as coaches, urban buses, school buses, trolley buses and "other buses". To be able to compare the evolutions of the safety of vehicle occupants it is customary to use different risk indicators. Calculations and illustrations for three often used indicators with their development over time are given: fatalities, seriously injured and slightly injured per 100,000 vehicles registered, per 1 billion (109) vehicle-kilometres travelled and per 1 billion (109) person-kilometres. These indicators are shown for occupants of cars, goods vehicles and buses/coaches. For the period from 1957 until 2012 it is obvious, that for all three vehicle categories analysed there was a clear long-term trend towards more occupant safety in terms of casualties per vehicles registered and per vehicle mileage. This was most significant for car occupants but it can be seen for bus/coach occupants and goodsvehicle occupants as well. Figures of killed occupants and of casualties related to person-kilometres are calculated and displayed for the shorter period 1995 to 2012. Here it becomes obvious that the bus/coach is still the safest mode of transport for the occupants of road vehicles. Graphs for the casualty risk indices still show significantly higher risks for car occupants despite the corresponding curve moved sustainable downwards. It is remarkable, that the risks of being killed or injured for the occupants of urban buses is growing whereas the corresponding risk for the occupants of coaches in line traffic tends downwards. The article ends with a short comparison and discussion of the risk indicators which are actually published for the occupants (driver and passengers) of cars and the passengers of buses/coaches, railroads, trams and airplanes. The interpretation of such information depends on the perception and it seems that for a complete view not only one indicator should be used and the evolutions of the indicator values during longer periods (as displayed with examples in the paper) should also be taken into account.