Technology for Safety Improvement: Automobile Edition

This chapter discusses the technical aspects of improving safety for automobiles. In Sect. 7.1, we look back at the trends and transitions in automobile safety technology development mainly in Japan. We introduce the experimental safety vehicle (ESV), advanced safety vehicle (ASV), intelligent transport systems (ITS), and current efforts toward the social implementation of autonomous driving. In Sect. 7.2, we introduce the features of individual devices that have been put into practical use for active safety, and in Sect. 7.3, for passive safety.In Sect. 7.4, we introduce accident prevention technology for elderly drivers, which has become a problem in recent years, and new safety improvement technology using connected technology.