The Integrated Project PReVENT is a European automotive industry activity co-funded by the European Commission (FP6) to contribute to road safety by developing and demonstrating preventive safety applications and technologies.
Preventive safety applications help drivers to avoid or mitigate an accident through the use of in-vehicle systems which sense the nature and significance of the danger, while taking the driver’s state into account.
Depending on the significance and timing of the threat, the active and preventive safety systems will
- inform the driver as early as possible
- warn him or her if there is no driver reaction to the information, and
- actively assist or ultimately intervene in order to avoid an accident or mitigate its consequences.
Preventive safety applications also help drivers to:
- maintain a safe speed
- keep a safe distance
- drive within the lane
- avoid overtaking in critical situations
- safely pass intersections
- avoid crashes with vulnerable road users
and last but not least, reduce the severity of an accident if it still occurs.
Preventive safety makes use of information, communications and positioning technologies to provide solutions for improving road safety. With such technology – which can operate either autonomously on-board the vehicle or co-operatively based on vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-infrastructure communication – the number of accidents and their severity can be reduced, leading to a decrease in the number of accidents.