Accident investigations for active safety at CHALMERS – new demands require new methodologies

Abstract

In order to develop efficient active safety systems, knowledge about what causes traffic accidents is required. One way to gather such knowledge is through traffic accident investigations. For the needs of active safety, most current accident investigation methodologies do not provide a sufficiently detailed or theoretically anchored analysis. Therefore, new studies need to be carried out using new theoretical frameworks and analysis methods. At CHALMERS, a new methodology called driving reliability and error analysis method has been developed and tried out during recent years. The methodology, as described and exemplified, shows good promise of meeting the needs of active safety accident investigation projects. Results from studies using the methodology also imply consequences for how benefit estimation of new active safety systems should be carried out.

Keywords:

• Accident investigations
• Active safety systems
• Accident models
• Benefit estimation