Volvo Car Corporation-Ford Motor Company-University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute Lane Departure Warning Advanced Crash Avoidance Technologies Project

Rather than waiting for years of crash data to accumulate, estimating the safety benefits of new crash avoidance systems is an important ongoing research area for NHTSA. NHTSA has been working with industry partners to develop leading-edge modeling and analytical techniques to help estimate and forecast how changes in system performance attributes may affect safety benefits. In 2009 NHTSA completed four projects with teams led by automobile manufacturers which focused on estimating the safety benefits of technologies that address frontal crash mitigation (primarily rear-end crashes), backover prevention, and lane departure warning. In June 2011, NHTSA completed two remaining projects with teams led by automobile manufacturers, which focused on technologies that address head-on crash mitigation, lane departure prevention, and blind spot detection. We are currently assessing these different approaches to deter¬mine advantages and disadvantages, relationship to real world field experience, and planning next steps.