CAR SAFETY

The 28 million cars in Britain could be using the same huge advances in safety now used in Formula One racing cars for as little as £70 extra. The technology exists but manufacturers have so far put it in only a handful of top-range models, according to Max Mosley, president of motor sport's international governing body, the FIA. This is partly because car makers are worried that drivers don't want to feel the car is taking over and, more controversially, because they want to keep these extra safety features exclusive to more expensive models. "All this technology exists, but it's a question of putting it in vehicles," says Mr Mosley. "The tragedy is you could save thousands of lives."

Mosley wants to bring the safety for drivers of Ferrari's world championship F1 team to the streets of Britain. After the death of superstar driver Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994, he pushed for improvements to the structure of cars to protect drivers. Button's survival is testimony to his success. Huge advances in electronics could make ordinary drivers as safe as F1 racers, but manufacturers and governments are not doing enough about it. More than 40,000 people a year are killed or seriously injured in Britain as a result of road accidents. Around the world, 1.2 million people die in road crashes every year, according to the World Health Organisation.

One adaptation to the anti-lock braking system feature is electronic skid protection, or ESP, which tries to stop the car skidding if you go too fast around a corner. "It can do for you what Michael Schumacher can do if he's driving a car," says Mosley. When a crash becomes inevitable, an electronic sensor can work out the distance to the vehicle in front and apply the brake to reduce the speed of impact. If the vehicle in front had a chip in its number plate, your electronics could adapt the internal structure to further reduce the impact. And in an accident, an eCall system fitted to your seatbelt could alert emergency services to your position.

The next stage is electronic management of the vehicle to stop the crash altogether, chiefly an 'electronic towbar' that would 'lock on' to the driver in front and automatically adjust your speed to that of the other vehicle. Electronic tow bars could allow cars to travel only half a second apart, rather than the current two seconds, thus allowing many more on to the existing road space. There is also greater focus on better design of racing circuits, and now roads, often through features such as energy absorbing barriers around hard objects. The FIA is pioneering many track and road improvements, but has rejected many of these electronic advances for fear of allowing 'machines' to 'replace' human drivers.

However, they could, and should, be in everybody else's cars, says Mosley. Some features, notably electronic towbars, are too expensive for mass-produced vehicles at present, although the cost should come down as numbers rise. There are also legal concerns, most importantly about who would be liable for an accident if the electronics went wrong. This can be dealt with by legislation, says Mosley, a former barrister. Another problem is the 'human machine interface', some drivers don't like the idea of the car taking control. What worries Mosley and others campaigning for safety improvements is the slow take-up by many manufacturers of technology that would quickly come down in price if demand were higher.

The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders insists cost is the major factor. New electronics are expensive and it is up to drivers to pay more or government to make it worth their while, said Al Clarke, the society's head of communications. A sonar system to keep a set distance between vehicles costs £1,000 extra, for example. "We have got the technology, it's now a political decision, does the Government want to legislate on a UK or European-wide level to do this?" said Clarke. Mosley also believes government could do more to improve safety devices and road design. He suggests road pricing could be adjusted to give discounts for safer cars, and physical incentives such as dedicated lanes for cars with such features.