Joined-Up Thinking: Coupling Active and Passive Safety Systems

This article briefly considers vehicle safety approaches that integrate active safety features (such as driver assistance and crash avoidance systems) and passive safety features (such as airbags and seatbelts, as well as vehicle design). The integrated safety topics covered include developing vehicle restraint systems; incorporating real-world scenarios in product testing, including the use of crash dummies that represent various sizes of humans, and passengers and drivers who may not be in the ideal position for safety; stereo vision systems; driver monitoring systems, mounted on or near the steering wheel; hands-on-wheel systems; and motorized seatbelts that can adjust to different driving scenarios, including crash imminence.