Demand for crash avoidance technologies is increasing throughout the Arab world as the region continues to pursue effective solutions to bring down the number of road accident fatalities, according to Bosch Middle East. The region sees around 40,000 road-related deaths annually with 60 per cent of the incidents victimizing youth, according to the Arab Organization for Road Safety (AROSO). Although countries such as the UAE were able to bring down their road death tolls by 10 per cent in 2009 through stricter traffic laws and policing initiatives – according to figures released by the General Directorate of Traffic Coordination at the Ministry of Interior -,there is still a growing need to ensure better protection starting from the vehicle. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), globally road fatalities currently stand at 1.27 million annually and are increasing in most regions of the world. If trends continue unaddressed, road deaths will rise to an estimated 2.4 million yearly by 2030, WHO noted. Bosch has recently introduced a portfolio of crash avoidance technologies to address the region's road safety issues. The automotive supplier's new radar system will be part of the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and the Predictive Emergency Braking System (PEBS), which significantly improve driving safety. The new PEBS technology to be rolled out soon in the new Audi A8 has the potential to prevent three out of four rear-end collisions with injuries through its inclusion of predictive collision warning, emergency brake assist and automatic emergency braking. These features will not only enable drivers to be aware of potential collisions and more accurately control their braking force but automatically intervene whenever necessary to prevent accidents as well. A report by the Saudi Traffic Department has revealed that more than 485,000 traffic accidents occurred during 2008 in the Kingdom killing 6,485 people, an average of 17 people per day. According to the World Health Organization, road accidents result in an estimated cost of USD 518 billion worldwide on governments, which creates an economic and workforce burden on the health care system. “Reaction speed and the type of evasive action taken are critical to avoiding road accidents, but in many cases the driver does not react properly. This is why we see a lot of governments in the region requiring and encouraging more safety components and capabilities in vehicles. Through our latest lineup of crash avoidance systems we intend to make a significant contribution to minimizing road injuries and deaths in the region. We hope that the innovative technologies we have used in these products will raise safety standards in the region's automobile industry,” said Volker Bischoff, General Manager, Bosch Middle East. Bosch's road safety technologies extend beyond automobiles and into other transport types such as motorcycles. The company recently developed a new antilock braking system specifically designed for motorcycles. According to a study by the Swedish highways authority, motorcycle ABS promises to prevent 38 per cent of accidents involving personal injury and 48 per cent of those leading to deaths. The company is also campaigning intensively against the sales of counterfeit parts which have been causing an increasing number of accidents. More Middle Eastern countries are reinforcing their road safety agendas in response to the World Health Organization's prediction that road-related accidents will emerge as the leading cause of death by 2020. They are also concerned over the numerous other social and economic problems posed by such untoward incidents. Many governments have responded by taking additional measures to improve road safety and more effectively enforce traffic laws.
