Study on forward collision warning system adapted to driver characteristics and road environment

Forward collision warning systems target a major crash type: rear-end crashes with a moving or parked vehicle which covers 30% of all accidents in Japan. The development of this system contributes to the reduction of road accidents. Many collision warning algorithms have recently been proposed and developed in automobile markets but they are based on Pre-Crash Safety system concept which activates in critical driving situation. In future, the collision warning device should be designed to be activated earlier than the current pre-crash safety system in order to induce driver’s own braking maneuver to prevent collision as well as near-miss incident. This paper focuses on a forward collision warning algorithm based on road friction coefficient and driver characteristics. The effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by using driving simulator experiments and experimental car in urban area.