Uppdaterad: 17 november 2009
Goal-oriented efforts have made traffic safety a major world industry, with its base in Sweden and with turnover in the billions of Swedish Crowns. A new research centre, now taking form, aims to further Swedish development and positioning in this field. It is expected to attract the elite of the elite in vehicle and traffic safety research.
Collaboration between academia and industry is well established in the field of traffic safety in Sweden. This tradition is believed to be a key reason why Sweden is far ahead in this field internationally. Last fall this relationship was strengthened through the creation of the SAFER research centre. The aim of the centre is to take a holistic view of safety issues and form an international hub for research on vehicle safety in modern traffic environments.
“What sets Swedish traffic safety research apart – and creates our competitive advantage – is that all of the key players are engaged: academics, industry, government agencies and research institutes. This enables the collaboration between partners with different perspectives that is needed to achieve progress with regard to vehicle and traffic safety,” says Anna Nilsson Ehle, SAFER’s Manager.
New knowledge, new technology
Approximately 90 people are currently connected to SAFER, and the goal is to contribute to retaining Sweden’s competitive position as a world leader in vehicle and traffic safety. “Sweden has established its reputation by minimizing injuries in traffic accidents. We are also good at understanding real traffic situations. Now we aim to be just as good at increasing understanding of how drivers react in critical situations,” says Anna Nilsson Ehle.
Pre-Crash Safety, one of five areas of competence within SAFER, will implement studies aimed at gaining a better understanding of how different types of people drive, how drivers react in different situations, and what it is that causes accidents to occur. “Today, with the help of sensors, we can measure many things inside a vehicle, such as how a driver turns, breaks, accelerates and maneuvers his/her vehicle. We intend to connect this information to how drivers experience specific traffic situations and how drivers react to systems that they aren’t aware of. Our focus is on creating projects that lead to a better understanding of why accidents occur and, based on that knowledge, to develop system solutions that help to reduce the risk of accidents,” says Hans Norin, Adjunct Professor in vehicle safety at Chalmers University of Technology and Coordinator for Pre-Crash Safety.
