All contents copyright ©, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc., 2003 onwards, unless specified otherwise. All rights reserved.

 IMPORTANT: click here to read the DISCLAIMER 

In a presentation at the Eye and The Auto World Congress, Continental Automotive Systems, North America, Manager, Vehicle Test and Development, Robert Beaver presented Continental's vision of how the development of active safety technology will help save lives.
  

Beaver spoke before an audience whose primary focus was on the relationship between vision and the safe operation of motor vehicles. Beaver commented on a new generation of technology through improved sensors processors and general electronic capabilities are giving drivers the ability to avoid critical situations in everyday traffic. "Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injury in multiple age groups and driver error is the most significant factor in many of these crashes," said Beaver.
  

Beaver summarized Continental's goal of applying proactive technology through an integrated, comprehensive assistance system to provide drivers and occupants with the best possible support and help prevent the occurrence of crashes and mitigate injuries. This vision is demonstrated in Continental's total vehicle safety concept.
  

This concept uses Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as the foundation with its credibility in the market providing the opportunity to add more "intelligence." "NHTSA recently found ESC reduces single vehicle crashes in passenger cars by 35 percent and in SUVs by 67 percent," said Beaver.
  

Continental, a major supplier of ESC, is using technology to help reach the Department of Transportation's goal of reducing fatalities to 1.0 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by 2008. Combining the success of ESC with the benefits of other crash avoidance systems and integrating the protection of passive safety technology into a total safety system, Continental can create a virtual safety cocoon for drivers and occupants.
  

Beaver appeared on a panel that featured vehicle factors, including blind spot elimination, crash avoidance, glare, ergonomic and auto design. The Eye and the Auto 2005 World Congress is organized and sponsored by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology.
  

Source: Continental Automotive Systems