ENG 207: English for EngineeringSpring 2015

Safe Car; Accidents and Injuries Prevention

Submitted to

Dr Firas A J Al-JubouriAssistant ProfessorEnglish DepartmentAmerican University of Sharjah

By

1Anas Al Atrash 50512

2Catrine ElSayegh 47408

3Abderaouf Badjadja 48907

4Ahmed Al Mallahi 47824

May 31st, 2015

Team 4Engineering Building,American University of Sharjah,P.O. Box 23456,Sharjah.Dr. Firas A J Al-Jubouri,Department of English,College of Arts and Sciences,American University of Sharjah,P.O. Box: 26666,Sharjah.

26th May 2015

Dear Dr. Al-Jubouri,We are pleased to submit our Engineering Multi-Disciplinary Project (EMDP) report entitled as: Safe Car; Accidents and Injuries Prevention in response to your request of 15 February, 2015.Since we come from three different engineering disciplines, we chose a project that combines these various concentrations to solve a common problem; which is decreasing the loss of lives and preventing the occurrence of injuries by increasing car safety. Car safety could be enhanced by implementing several safety systems in a car. The attached report will disclose all details covered by the multi-disciplinary team.The report discloses collaborative work from mechanical, electrical and civil engineering disciplines. The current situation of drivers being unsafe while driving under the increasing risks of car accidents has been discussed. The problems occurring due to insufficient safety measures are highlighted in terms of pre-crash and post-crash problems. Then the possible solutions that could be implemented are presented in details. At the end, the proposed implementation of the pre-crash and post-crash systems has been evaluated based on their costs and benefits.We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Hassan Nashash and Dr. Ghaleb Hussein from the Biomedical Engineering Department for their encouragement, support, and guidance. Their remarks and consultancy have significantly contributed to the results we have reached to, as well as, they have initially guided us towards a more useful project idea.Regarding our secondary sources, some of them were obtained from AUS library journal articles, books, and online data bases. Whereas, the rest of the sources were obtained from scientific journal articles such as . That were retrieved through Google Scholar.I hope that our report and project idea meets the criteria needed to successfully complete the EMDP as one of the course requirements. Please feel free to contact us for any further queries. Yours truly,Catrine ElSayegh Anas Al AtrashAbdelraouf BadjadjaAhmed Al Mallahi

Encl.: Safe Car; Accidents and Injuries Prevention Project ReportTable of Contents

List of FiguresivList of TablesviGlossaryviiExecutive Summaryviii1.Introduction11.1.Situation and Background11.2.Purpose21.3.Scope22.Problems Identification and Discussion32.1.Pre-crash problems32.1.1.Driving under the influence of alcohol32.1.2.Fatigued and sleepy drivers32.1.3.Slow braking response at uncontrollable high speeds42.2.Post-crash problems42.2.1.Whiplash injuries42.2.2.Triage of injured drivers43.Solutions53.1.Pre-crash solutions53.1.1.Alcohol monitoring system53.1.2.Sleep monitoring system53.1.3.Emergency braking system63.2.Post-crash solutions73.2.1.Whiplash Prevention system73.2.2.Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) System84.Evaluation104.1.Alcohol Detection System104.2.Automated Emergency Braking System104.3.Sleep Detection Sensor104.4.Automated Collision Notification System114.5.Whiplash Injury Preventer114.6.Cost115.Recommendations126.Conclusion13References14

List of Figures

Figure 1: explaining several system to be integrated in cars to enhance the safety of drivers & passengers6Figure 2: Car Seat Model [12]7Figure 3: Rescue sequence including an AACN system [13]8

List of Tables

Glossary

AACN: Advanced Automatic Collision NotificationADS: Alcohol Detection SystemAEBS: Automatic Emergency Braking System Anti-Whiplash Devices (AWDs): Devices that work on preventing whiplash injuries Emergency-Services: Vehicles of transportation that aid in delivering emergency medical care to the injured and ill Passive Device: A component that does not require electrical power to operateSafety-Belt Pretensioners: Seat belt add that preventatively tightens up the belt in the event of a crashWhiplash: An injury that occurs when a sudden force tears the neck muscles WIP: Whiplash Injury Preventer

Executive Summary

For a long time now, car accidents have been causing deaths, injuries and financial losses to people from all over the world. This has come as come as a result of different factors that could lead to a car collision. Crash reports show that a number of several causes are most likely to reappear more than others. Factors such as, driving under the influence, sleep deprived driving and failure to maintain the safe distance between two consecutive cars have all been held liable for the occurrence of car collisions. Furthermore, addressing post-crash issues like whiplash injuries and slow emergency-service dispatch has never been more vital. This report aims to present viable solutions to aforementioned issues by inspecting various systems that are sensory, mechanical and intelligent in order to implement them in a safe car model. The team focused on examining various sources that cover the latest findings on dealing with pre-crash and post-crash problems as well as interviewing a university professor whose research focus covers our topic of interest. There are a number of problems that can be attributed to causing car collisions in the first place. To start off, drunk driving has spread in a great extent recently, and that intoxication has often been the reason behind drivers losing control over their vehicle and crashing into other vehicles, pedestrians and public property. Moreover, fatigued driving is now a major cause of car accidents to the point that its effects are now compared to the effects of driving under the influence. Third, some drivers tend to not keep the safe distance between cars in regard when driving in high speed freeways. This can often lead to slow response in breaking when the car ahead decelerates and hence, rear-end impacts can occur. Moving on to issues related to the crash aftermath, it was found that, lately, the number of whiplash injuries has risen exponentially. Furthermore, emergency services often take a certain amount of time before reaching a crash scene, and a one- or two-second delay in dispatch could have its toll on a crash by causing disabilities or even death. The team has decided upon five different solutions to address the five problems mentioned above. Firstly, an alcohol monitoring system that would measure the blood alcohol level and act accordingly. To add on, a sleep detection system that would observe and detect the drivers facial features and react in the case the driver was falling asleep. For the slow braking response issue, a new system that would help in mitigating front-end impacts will be presented. For the post-crash problems, the team has agreed on the following solutions to be implemented. First, the safe car model will be equipped with a whiplash prevention system to absorb collision impact and provide spinal protection. As for the emergency dispatch delay issue, an advanced automatic collision notification system will be integrated in the model car. Such a system will help in notifying the nearest emergency service center to allow for a faster response, it will also provide crash details that would help in attaining to the injured passengers. All the solutions were then evaluated in terms of cost and benefits. The proposed solutions are economically affordable if to be integrated in a passenger car. It was found that each of the systems had displayed a significant potential in mitigating car collisions and the consequences that come along with it. This report shows that the implementation of the aforementioned systems into one safe car model is viable.

8

1. Introduction

1.1. Situation and BackgroundThe advancement of technology has had a major impact on the facilitation of the life of mankind. One aspect of these developments is the inception of the intelligent automobile. Research regarding intelligent automobiles can be linked to developing countries governments efforts in producing an intelligent transportation system (ITS) during the 1980s. The purpose behind these research projects was to produce smart cars that run on smart streets and highways. Moreover, the aim was to enhance vehicles dynamics, safety, energy efficiency, drivers leisure, and route guidance; as well as, to mitigate traffic congestion and pollution caused by vehicles. According to World Health Organization (WHO), car accidents account for 1.2 million deaths and 20 to 50 million injuries worldwide every year [1]. In addition, car crashes have a negative effect on the nations economy. A study, done by the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) based on data of police reported and unreported data in the US, have shown that the cost of accidents are quite larger than the obvious cost of collision and repair costs. The study showed that the cost of automobile collisions involves the work loss cost, property damage, medical cost, cost to employers as productivity and cost of police service. The data showed that vehicle car crashes were estimated to cost the US government 242 billion dollars [2]. Therefore, car safety and accident prevention are major concerns that must be tackled and enhanced; hence, many companies started doing research on various intelligent systems that will soon be produced and implemented in future car production. These car manufactures include Nissan, who are working on implementing an alcohol detection system that would prevent intoxicated drivers to operate their automobiles [3]. However, this system is still not integrated into commercial cars as it is only a concept or theory. Moreover, Mercedes, one of the leading car manufacturers worldwide, have initiated research to bring their consumers an automobile that prevents collision by the implementing an anti-collision breaking system that decelerates the car when approaching another car. However, this proposed system is only effective on low speeds of less than 25 mph; since at this speed, more than 75% of accidents occur [4]. 1.2. PurposeThis report will serve as an extensive description and research outcomes regarding the multidisciplinary engineering project, which is a safe car that prevents accidents and mitigates injuries. This report will propose an innovative idea of integrating several systems into cars to enhance the safety of the automobiles. The main questions that this report will aim to tackle are: What are the systems that should be installed or integrated into the automobile, why these systems must be installed, how the integrated systems can recognize a certain health issue and what action should be initiated as a reaction, how can these systems be integrated into the automobile conveniently. Furthermore, the aim of this multidisciplinary project is to save the lives of the passengers and the driver, to decrease the number of fatal car accidents, and to enhance the post-crash process of attaining the accident site in order for the ambulance to arrive with enough information to diagnose the injured driver.1.3. ScopeThe sophisticated design of the Smart Car requires the contribution of multiple engineering disciplines which will hold the responsibilities regarding the electrical and mechanical welfare of the car as a whole, as well as, the cost benefits to the consumer and the producer. The problems that are encountered in automobiles and occur after the collision occurs are discussed in detail in this report. Moreover, the description and schematic of the implemented systems will be discussed in this report. In addition, the report will contain the evaluation and cost analysis of the integrated systems. 2. Problems Identification and Discussion

Some problems lead to car accidents, but other problems occur due to car accidents, after a crash has happened. In the following sections, we will be discussing both of these major problems in details.2.1. Pre-crash problems

2.1.1. Driving under the influence of alcohol One of the first factors that contribute to the cause of fatal car accidents is the irresponsibility of some drivers. These irresponsible drivers, who drive under the influence of alcohol, endanger the welfare of the passengers and the safety of the road. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [5], alcohol impaired driving contributes to 31% of fatal car accidents. Therefore, alcohol impaired driving is an issue of great significance that should be solved. Moreover, car manufactures are developing researches concerning the prevention of car accidents related to intoxicated drivers. However, there are no current automobiles that detect the alcohol level in the driver.

2.1.2. Fatigued and sleepy driversThe second factor that leads to collision is fatigued or sleepy drivers who lose control over the vehicle and ultimately crash. A survey conducted by the AAA foundation for traffic on drivers who are above the age of 16 showed that 52% of drivers have at least fallen asleep once while driving. Moreover, studies based on records during years 1999 to 2008 [5] show that fatigued and sleepy drivers account for 31% of fatal car accidents.

2.1.3. Slow braking response at uncontrollable high speedsModern vehicles, which have been produced in the recent years, have no control on the speeding behavior of the drivers. Noting that, one of the major and obvious causes that lead to car collisions is the drivers operation of the automobile at high speeds that cannot be easily controlled. These drivers can lose control over the car and crash causing significant damage to themselves and to others. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), high speeding contributes to 30% of lethal car accidents in 2012. Therefore, highlighting the significance of controlling the speed of the car and the importance of designing a car that is speed monitored [5].2.2. Post-crash problems2.2.1. Whiplash injuriesWhiplash injuries been quite common and have been drastically increasing in the past few decades. They are also known as neck sprain or strain, which commonly occurs in rear-end auto accidents [6]. Occurring of whiplash injuries could cause paralysis or spinal cord injuries. Also, according to the Institute for Work & Health [7], a whiplash injury commonly causes symptoms of depression soon after an accident. 2.2.2. Triage of injured driversIn case of major car accidents, the driver being injured will most probably be incapable of verbally communicating his/her pain to the ambulance when they arrive to the scene of the accident. Being unable to communicate the source of the pain could lead to wrong diagnosis, and therefore, this could result in a fatal loss if the injured drivers case has not been accurately treated on time. In addition, late arrival of unprepared medical services due to the tremendous increase of traffic in UAE could lead to disabilities, if not fatal deaths. Keeping in mind, the number of traffic has been exponentially increasing over the years. 3. Solutions

To each problem stated above, a possible solution has been found. The solutions will be divided into pre-cash solutions and post-crash solutions to address the problems stated earlier. The following sections will discuss the solutions in details.3.1. Pre-crash solutions

3.1.1. Alcohol detection systemThe alcohol detection system would be implemented in the ignition of the car. It measures the blood alcohol level of the driver and prohibits the driver from starting the car if the alcohol level exceeds the legal threshold [8]. Transmitters from within the car ignition will send microwave signals to the drivers thumb, and the same system would then act as a receiver to analyze the data, that is sent back from the thumb, which would, eventually, determine the blood alcohol level. This system will make sure the driver is incapable of driving under the illegal effect of alcohol. 3.1.2. Sleep monitoring systemA sleep monitoring system would observe and detect the facial features of car drivers to determine their fatigue state [9]. If the driver was falling asleep, this system would detect this case and react immediately [10]. Another system would be integrated in the purpose of alerting the driver to wake up. An add-on to the safety built is capable to fill the role in which it would tighten up the seatbelt whenever it receives a signal from the sleep monitoring system.

3.1.3. Automated Emergency braking systemIn the case of drivers with slow braking response issues, an automated emergency braking system could be implemented that works on preventing collisions at a speed of 60km/h, and possibly mitigates accidents at front-end impacts such as at a speed of 100 km/h or more [11].

Figure 1: explaining several system to be integrated in cars to enhance the safety of drivers & passengers

3.2. Post-crash solutions

3.2.1. Whiplash Prevention systemThe proposed whiplash prevention system (WPS) consists of seat components that act as anti-whiplash devices (AWDs), as in automobile elements that could mitigate or prevent the occurrence of a whiplash injury. Two core AWDs will be integrated as part of the WPS, both the head restraint and the seat-back [12].

Figure 2: Car Seat Model [12]The AWDs will consist of passive devices, such as spring-damper systems, that control the relative motion amongst the different structural elements of the seat. The detailed design measurements for the anti-whiplash devices will be calculated in which specific breakaway forces and torques would be set with a certain maximum value [12]. In the case of an automobile collision, the maximum breakaway torques/forces would be exceeded. As a result, the AWDs would then be enabled which helps in absorbing the collision energy. The system, as a whole, is expected to provide optimal protection for the head and spine, and hence, mitigating whiplash injuries [12]. The last system in the safe car model would be the advanced automatic collision notification (AACN) system [13]. 3.2.2. Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) System

In order to avoid the consequences of injuries, ranging from morbidity to mortality, they have to be prevented in the first place. However, in the case of an injury, emergency medical services have to insure that the injured are given the appropriate evaluation and care within the restriction of time, and that is where the following system comes into place. The Advanced Automatic Collision Notification System or the AACN, as the name suggests, acts to minimize the amount of time for emergency services to reach an accident scene and optimize the process of triage and treatment of injured passengers [13].

Figure 3: Rescue sequence including an AACN system [13]

Whenever an accident has happened (as dictated by different sensors, safety belt pretensions, or airbag deployment), the AACN system transmits a remote emergency call to a service provider in order to provide the cars location through GPS as well as data related to the accident [13]. The system also works on opening a communication channel between the car and the call center. Data including crash severity information, which is collected by various sensors in the vehicle, would then be analyzed to determine injury severity. All the info would then be rerouted to a public safety answering point that would dispatch the suitable emergency service [13].

4. Evaluation

The importance of our project depends on how efficient the systems are, and how beneficial they can be if they get implemented. The systems are going to be evaluated. Also, investment on each part will be approximated in some of the cases.4.1. Alcohol Detection System

In the case of Alcohol Detection System, it is calibrated to work at certain alcohol concentration in the blood. So, in few cases, the system can be calibrated for the alcohol level of the driver. As the system might prevent the driver from using the car even though he or she is not a drunk, and it is just a result of a stable high concentration of alcohol in blood. Adding to that, the system will start working when the concentration gets higher than that value after being calibrated. The implementation is expected to cut-down drunk-driving offenses by 67% [14].4.2. Automated Emergency Braking System

The Automated Emergency Braking System is targeting accidents at 80-100km/h speed. The system will function to prevent these accidents from happening; moreover, it will try to mitigate accidents done at higher speeds. The AEBS will decrease the collision speed at which the accident will occur. This implementation is expected to decrease accidents done at 80km/h or less by 20% [15].4.3. Sleep Monitoring SystemThe sleep monitoring system will calibrate itself when the driver starts driving. It will also collect previous results from the past driving times to compare the current result to the previous results. It is a smart system in a way that, depending on how often the driver is blinking, or even on how the drivers facial expressions seems to be, it will warn the driver and try to keep him/her awake.4.4. Advanced Automated Collision Notification System

The main concern of this system is to decrease the ambulance waiting time, and give medics more time to tackle the injury. The AACN will determine how severe the injury is, therefore, the medics will have an idea which injury to prioritize in-order to save peoples lives. The system is expected to eliminate or sharply decrease the ambulances response time which is estimated to be 19 minutes [16].4.5. Whiplash Prevention System

The Whiplash Prevention Systems function is as previously discussed is to decrease the whiplash injuries that result from braking. However, this system is still in the production stage, and the cost of the upgrade of this system is yet to be approximated. Nevertheless, this system is expected to decrease 40% of whiplash injuries [17].4.6. Cost

The price of the systems are considerably insignificant compared to the value the accident or the value of the injury if it occurred. In general, the average auto liability claim for property damage was $3,231; the average auto liability claim for bodily injury was $15,443 . . . drunk driving alone accounted for 18% of the total economic loss from motor vehicle crashes, costing the economy as much as $199 billion in direct and quality-of-life losses . . . speeding accounted for 21% of the total economic loss, responsible for as much as $210 billion in costs [18]. In the case of ADS, the price of system is around [19]. Adding to that, the price of the AEBS is expected to be at 250 [20].5. Recommendations

This report makes the following recommendations:

Do not attempt to fool the alcohol detection sensor, because if the driver tried to do so, it will compare it to the previous collected results and the newly collected ones. Try to drive in the range of the ideal speed of the Automated Emergency Braking System to reach the optimum working condition of the system. As it was previously stated, the system prevents accidents at 25 mph. Make sure to put the seatbelt, not only to enhance the safety, but also to give a chance for the SDS to warn or attempt to wake the driver when he/she falls asleep or be less aware of the road. Try to take off any heavy clothing such as fur coats or anything with thick layers, as it will make the AACN less effective. Adjust the car seat and most importantly the head restraint, it is important to do this because this will also help in preventing the whiplash injuries. The spine of the body should be on good shape to make sure that the WIP will function properly and prevent the injury.

6. Conclusion

To conclude, the suggested systems are to be implemented in a way that they will decrease the amount of fatal accidents and injuries occurring, as well as decrease the ambulance waiting time. This will be satisfied by integrating using ADS, EBS, SDS, ACNS and WIP. Lastly, the cost of these systems will be insignificant compared to the value of the expected value of an accidents and injuries that result from not using these upgrades.

References

[1] Poster 1.2 million situation reference[2] http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/812013.pdf[3] http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/OVERVIEW/dpcc.html[4] http://www.thatcham.org/aeb[5] http://www.rmiia.org/auto/traffic_safety/Cost_of_crashes.asp[6]: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whiplash/basics/definition/con-20033090[7]: http://www.iwh.on.ca/highlights/whiplash-after-traffic-accidents-can-lead-to-depression[8] S. Bhatnagar, R. Gupta and K. Singla, Apparatus for Ensuring Seat Belt Usage and Checking Blood Alcohol Concentration, 2008 IEEE Conference on Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics, 2008.[9] S. Hachisuka, "Human and Vehicle-Driver Drowsiness Detection by Facial Expression," Biometrics and Kansei Engineering (ICBAKE), 2013 International Conference, vol., no.5-7, pp.320 - 326, July 2013. [10] P. Ebrahim, W. Stolzmann and B. Yang, Eye Movement Detection for Assessing Driver Drowsiness by Electrooculography, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 2013. [11] Anonymous, NSW: Self-braking cars should be standard: NRMA. AAP General News Wire, 2014. Available: http://ezproxy.aus.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1551284550?accountid=16946[12]S. Himmetoglu, M. Acar, K. Bouazza-Marouf & A. Taylor. Car seat design to improve rear-impact protection, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering, vol. 225, no. 4, pp. 441-459, 2011.[13] Division of Injury Response, 'Advanced Automatic Collision Notification and Triage of The Injured Patient', National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, 2009.[14] http://www.madd.org/media-center/media-library/National-Interlock-Briefing-Sheet.pdfhttp://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.aus.edu/docview/213798047?pq-origsite=summon[Accessed: 04-Jan-2015][15] http://www.thatcham.org/aeb. [16] http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/Emergencyandurgentcareservices/Pages/Ambulanceservices.aspx[17] http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/ESV/esv18/CD/proceed/00206.pdf[18] http://www.rmiia.org/auto/traffic_safety/Cost_of_crashes.asp [19] http://dwidude.com/alcohol-monitor-devices/[20] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/files/projects/report_aebs_en.pdf