On-board computers and sensors could stop the next car or truck-based attack

In the wake of car- and truck-based attacks around the world, most recently in New York City, cities are scrambling to protect busy pedestrian areas and popular events. It’s extremely difficult to prevent vehicles from being used as weapons, but technology can help.

Right now, cities are trying to determine where and how to place statues, spike strip nets and other barriers to protect crowds. Police departments are trying to gather better advance intelligence about potential threats, and training officers to respond – while regular people are seeking advice for surviving vehicle attacks.

These solutions aren’t enough: It’s impractical to put up physical barriers everywhere, and all but impossible to prevent would-be attackers from getting a vehicle. As a researcher of technologies for self-driving vehicles, I see that potential solutions already exist, and are built into many vehicles on the road today. There are, however, ethical questions to weigh about who should control the vehicle – the driver behind the wheel or the computer system that perceives potential danger in the human’s actions.

A computerized solution

Approximately three-fourths of cars and trucks surveyed by Consumer Reports in 2017 have forward-collision detection as either a standard or an optional feature. These vehicles can detect obstacles – including pedestrians – and stop or avoid hitting them. By 2022, emergency braking will be required in all vehicles sold in the U.S.
READ MORE

Germany bus crash: 18 dead, 30 injured in Bavaria

A bus carrying German senior citizens on vacation crashed into a truck today on a highway in Bavaria and burst into flames, killing 18 people and injuring 30 others, some seriously, officials said.

The accident took place around 7 am when the bus rear- ended a trailer-truck at the end of a traffic jam on the A9 highway near Muenchberg, not far from the Czech border. The accident led to long traffic jams on the A9, the main thoroughfare from Berlin to Munich.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, but prosecutors have opened an investigation.

The bus seemed to have caught fire immediately upon impact with the truck, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters after touring the crash site. The truck's trailer also burst into flames.

"Two people are still in life-threatening condition," Dobrint said.

Two drivers and 46 passengers were on the bus. The remains of all bodies were recovered from the bus, including that of the driver at the wheel during the crash, police said.

Police said the truck driver was not injured.

Some 200 emergency crews rushed to the scene and five helicopters whisked the injured to nearby hospitals. Simple wooden coffins were wheeled in for the remains recovered from the blackened, twisted wreckage of the bus.

Police said the ages of those on the bus ranged from 41 to 81 and they were primarily from the eastern German state of Saxony. The news agency dpa reported that all the passengers were German.

READ MORE