01/16/2007 ACDIS relieves drivers and can prevent rear-end collisions

Hanover, January 2007 – Often just a split second of inattention and it happens – a collision with another vehicle. If you fail to maintain a safe distance on the road, you usually won't be able to brake on time. This is especially true in congested and sluggish traffic. Reflector posts, normally positioned along the road every fifty meters, give drivers a better feel for distance. And there's a good rule of thumb: The minimum distance in meters should equal half the speedometer reading. That means that at a speed of 50 km/h, a distance of 25 meters should be maintained. Sticking to this rule isn't always easy, though, as it requires the driver's full concentration all the time. What's more, you the driver also have to pay attention to yielding right of way, to traffic in the adjacent lanes or to pedestrians and cyclists. 

Example of a safe distance. A rule of thumb: Half the speedometer reading in meters – e.g. at 60 km/h, a distance of 30 meters.

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To deal with this dilemma, Continental, the international automotive supplier, offers ACDIS, or Active Distance Support. It ups safety in congested or sluggish traffic by helping to ensure a constant distance to the vehicle up ahead. ACDIS recognizes decreasing distance to a slower-moving vehicle and generates a force on the active gas pedal to counteract the downward pressure exerted by the driver. In this way it sees to it that a safe distance is maintained. If this proves insufficient – because, for example, another vehicle suddenly swerves into your lane up front – ACDIS automatically shifts into a second-stage reaction, activating the brakes. And the gas pedal starts to vibrate, telling you to also brake.

"A driver might overhear bells or buzzers and overlook warning telltales on the instrument panel." But a vibrating gas pedal sends a clear message that can't go unnoticed," says Bernd Gebhart, head of the Chassis Electronics Business Center at Continental's Automotive Systems division, underscoring the advantage over conventional technology. “Studies indicate that maintaining a safe distance overtaxes and fatigues the driver, especially on long hauls." In 2005 alone, the ADAC recorded 79,000 rear-end collisions involving injuries or fatalities.

At a speed of 100 km/h ACDIS reduces the braking distance by up to ten meters and the impact speed in the event of an accident by up to 40 km/h. The system will be available commercially as of 2008 and may very well reduce the incidence of rear-end collisions in the future.