COWI team leader Thomas Odgaard explains: "With very many of the 21 technologies that we have analysed, the benefits far outweigh the costs. However, for some technologies it was not possible to carry out the analysis in its entirety, as these technologies are still in the test phase or under development." "Although this does not mean that they are not effective or suitable as safety equipment, because they could well prove to be." Of the 21 technologies analysed, it was possible to carry out cost-benefit assessments for 13 of them.
The analysis is carried out on behalf of the EU which has set itself the goal of halving the number of road fatalities by the year 2010, in part through the use of passive and active safety equipment in vehicles. In 2001, over 50,000 people lost their lives and millions were injured as a result of road accidents in Europe. Apart from the human cost, the socio-economic costs run to 229 billion € annually.
Countries beyond the EU, too, are looking at ways to improve safety in cars. And motorists themselves are increasingly weighing safety measures when deciding which car to buy. "Clearly this constitutes a competitive parameter that car producers are already working on. And all the indications are that it will take on even more importance in the future. Normally, new technologies first appear in more expensive cars and later they become standard in other classes of cars," says Morten Klintø Hansen, traffic safety expert with COWI. By Gitte Roe Eriksen, cht@cowi.com Published: 8.5.2006