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By
EWAN KENNEDY
19 May 2008
Honda's latest Accord Euro is coming to Australia late in June
and we recently had preview test drives and in-depth engineering
presentations of the upcoming model.
Even more exciting, we also had a close look at to a
fascinating new feature that will be installed in some variants of
the car, though at this stage it’s not being planned for
Australian imports.
Called a Collision Mitigation Brake System (CMBS), it can look
in front of the car and keep an electronic eye on any potential
dangers. It does this be using radar and a camera to scan what's
happening in the area the car will traverse in the next three
seconds.
If the car feels it’s approaching an object too quickly it
alerts the driver by sounding a warning buzzer and tugging at the
tops of the safety belts. At this stage the car may gently brake
if it feels this is necessary.
Interestingly, the safety belt on the passenger’s side is
tugged during this early warning stage. Hopefully resulting in a
worried passenger warning an inattentive driver they should take
immediate action.
If the distance is closing even more rapidly, the car brakes
more heavily and the safety belts are pre-tensioned, that is
pulled as taut as possible in anticipation of a crash. Note that
the latter is what happens in most other cars at the moment of
collision, but in the Honda the advance belt tightening will
further mitigate injuries to the front seat occupants.
If the car realises that a crash is inevitable it brakes harder
to minimise the damage to the humans inside.
However, Honda's engineers have come across a legal problem at
this stage in that the rules forbid a car from taking control away
from the driver. Therefore it stops short of braking to maximum
effect.
Though the company’s engineers would not come straight out
and say they disagreed with the law, our feeling was that they
would like to be permitted to allow the car to take increased
control over collision mitigation. We understand Honda is working
with the authorities to try and have the legal situation examined.
The world of automotive electronics has come a long way in the 40
years since the aforementioned regulations were set.
We were able to do extensive testing of this clever new system
on a closed road course and came away most impressed with the way
the Honda responded. Firstly in the way it alerted the driver to
potential danger, then in the way it tried to assist them in
staying out of trouble.
At this time Honda's CMBS is only being installed in vehicles
sold in the Japanese market. The engineers feel more research has
to be done on driving and road conditions in other countries, such
as Australia, before they are confident it can be exported to us.
Let's hope it does come here as I have made it clear on many
occasions that I feel inattention may well be the number one cause
of crashes.
The Honda system wouldn’t be a cheap option, if (when) it
comes here, but those jibbing at the cost should consider the
potential reduction in medical – and possibly funeral – bills
following a major crash…
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Marque Publishing Company
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