Road accidents have been part of the urban fabric since the horse and carriage days. Although we do not have statistics, it can be assumed that one of the leading causes of road accidents in the 19th century was the horse that got out of control. The advent of cars has only increased the incidence of accidents.
In the first decades of the motoring era, accidents were mainly due to mechanical and structural problems in the vehicles combined with the lack of adequate road infrastructure.
The technological development of the car was not uniform. As early as the 1930s, powerful engines were developed that could reach speeds not far from the rates we know today. Still, other vehicle features (such as the center of gravity, road grip, or brakes) did not align with engine power, resulting in more accidents.
The road infrastructure was also not designed with safety in mind – there were no curves intended to compensate for round trips, there was no lighting on the nights on the roads, and there were no guardrails. All of these caused accidents (with a great many casualties – because the safety measures in the vehicle did not protect the driver and passengers in the event of an accident).
The significant influencer – the human factor
In the second half of the twentieth century, road infrastructure in developed countries underwent upgrades and adjustments. Vehicles have also become less prone to accidents, and systems like ABS have reduced the common causes of accidents. In fact, towards the year 2000, the technological improvements in vehicles and infrastructure have reversed the trend, and many of the traditional causes of road accidents have disappeared. Are road accidents declining? Unfortunately, not. Eventually, the most significant cause of road accidents is the human factor.
To this can be added that in the 21st century, there are many more vehicles on the roads, and the more cars there are, the statistical probability of an accident increases. Legislators tried to deal with the human factor through education and deterrence. Still, to no avail, and in the middle of the first decade of the millennium, a new and significant factor entered the arena that we did not know before.
The new threat: cellular distractions
The immediate culprit in road accidents is the human factor. Humans tend to make mistakes, and when they occur on the road at a speed of 100 km / h, the danger is fatal. Lack of attention, recklessness, incorrect estimate of distance, fatigue, nervousness, etc. – all of these can lead to wrong decisions or unresponsiveness that will cause an accident Ways.
During the 90s of the last centuries, the mobile phone appeared and turned cellular distractions into another negative human factor. In the first decade of the 21st century, smartphones appeared and brought many beautiful things. Still, it also created a host of new distractions that allow the driver to wander off the road to WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and virtual space. Since 2007 there has been a steady increase in the number of accidents, and in recent years this has been a real pandemic. In the United States alone, an estimated 3,000 people die each year in accidents, the direct cause of which is a cellular distraction.
Caution: Autonomous driving
Another cause of road accidents that we have not encountered has emerged in recent years. Seemingly, this is the opposite example of the human factor, which is supposed to overcome the shortcomings of the human driver. Therefore, car manufacturers began to develop autonomous driving systems and implemented them in vehicles. The idea is beautiful and utopic, but the problem is that, at least for now, the reality on the ground is closer to dystopic.
In the future, autonomous vehicles may be the answer, but at present, autonomous driving systems do not provide a satisfactory solution for accident prevention. They give an illusion of safety that causes drivers to drive recklessly. More and more vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems have been involved in road accidents in recent years. According to many experts are already a cause of road accidents.
The technology that may change the picture
The good news is that technological development may change the picture. The Israeli start-up company SaverOne has developed technology to prevent cellular distractions while driving. The idea is both simple and brilliant. SaverOne’s system knows how to detect the driver’s phone, take control of it, and prevent the use of applications that cause distractions of the kind that can cause accidents. The system has already proven itself in several pilots. It may also reduce accidents in vehicles with “autonomous driving mode” because drivers will not be able to be immersed in the phone and therefore concentrate more on what is happening on the road. The hope is that now, after many years of technological development in vehicles, we will find the solution that will complete the picture.
