The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to provide a methodological framework for primary automotive safety. The methodology proposed is based on a systematic approach of driving and follows the principles of System Safety Analysis. The paper first covers the general concepts involved in the approach. A Generic Driving Model is proposed and the notions of operating range and accident mechanism are explained. An accident typology and a classification of safety systems are provided on the basis of these notions. A method for the determination of critical scenarios encountered in automotive driving is then proposed. This method first requires a qualitative modeling of the operation of the driver-vehicle system in a given driving phase. The different possible failures are then deduced from this model which leads to a qualitative failure model. Finally, the malfunction probabilities must be quantified using in-depth accident investigations and driving simulator experiments. The quantified malfunction model obtained can be used for specification and probabilistic safety assessment of crash avoidance systems. (A)
Samenvatting