TASI Driving Simulator Laboratory

Indiana Alcohol Research Center

Transportation Research Center

Traffic Data Analytics Laboratory

TASI Vehicle Research Laboratory

Active Safety

Active safety systems use sensors to continually monitor a vehicle’s traffic environment. This information is used by their intelligent control systems to evaluate the situation and identify high-probability crash events. Using that information, these systems alert drivers to potentially dangerous situations, helping provide the time the driver needs to make an assessment and take action. The systems may also employ automatic vehicle control such as braking or steering to avert an imminent crash or to minimize crash energy. In the event of an unavoidable crash, active safety systems can help optimize existing passive systems.

Societal Benefits

Automotive safety is a critical global issue. Societal costs of vehicular crashes are daunting and affect everyone. Financial and emotional costs of traffic crashes are high. Passive safety systems, specifically seatbelts and airbags, have significantly reduced the number of motor vehicle injuries and fatalities, improving vehicle safety appreciably. To further enhance safety on the road, active safety must become the critical focus. Active safety systems not only help reduce the number and severity of crashes, but will help sustain a decline in injury and deaths.