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MUARC Shines at world vehicle safety conference

22 August 2007

Attendees at a the recent Enhanced Safety Vehicles conference in France try out Monash University Accident Research Centre's portable driving simulator.

The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) shone at the recent world major road safety event -- the 20th Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference, in Lyon, France.

The Monash team, led by Professor Brian Fildes, MUARC's Chair of Road Safety, presented a number of well-received research papers at the conference as well as hosting a special road safety booth.

The conference, which is held every two years (previous host cities have included Washington DC in the USA as well as Nagoya, Japan), involved more than 750 participants.

These included representatives from many of the world's major car manufacturers -- Toyota, Volvo, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Daimler Chrysler, and General Motors -- as well as leading government officials and safety technology companies.

Professor Fildes presented a paper on Chest and Abdominal Injuries to Occupants In Far Side Crashes, researcher Clay Douglas spoke on Modelling The Seat Belt To Shoulder-Complex Interaction in Far Side Crashes, and Megan Bayly presented Intelligent Transport Systems And Motorcycle Safety.

Major sessions at the conference included Vehicle Handling, Stability and Control Systems, Injury Criteria and Test Procedures, as well as Developments in Side and Frontal Impact Protection.

MUARC's booth at the conference, manned by research engineer David Taranto, drew large numbers as participants sought information on the Centre's research expertise in areas including child safety, farside impacts, brain injury, crash investigations and pedestrian safety.

A special hit with crowds was MUARC's new EF-X driving simulator, a portable hi-tech real car driving cab with a 3D database that provides cutting edge visuals simulating country and city driving experiences as well as night driving and driving in wet conditions.

Professor Fildes said that the conference presented an important opportunity for MUARC to reinforce its accident research credentials on the world stage.

"MUARC is truly global as we continue to make inroads into Europe, China and the USA with our research," he said.

"Our presence at the ESV conference is one more way to further our academic and industry standing."