Nissan's new models and concepts
At the 2005 Tokyo motor show

Motion Trends, 15th October 2005.

Safety Nissan aims to halve the number of fatal and serious injuries from accidents involving Nissan vehicles in Japan by 2015 compared with 1995. Based on analysis of real-world accidents, Nissan has been working progressively to design and engineer safer vehicles. As of 2003, Nissan had reduced the number of fatal and serious injuries by 22% compared with 1995, indicating that steady progress is being made towards its goal.

However, there is generally an upward trend in the number of accidents. So extra measures will be needed to further decrease the level of fatal and serious injuries in the years ahead. Nissan is pushing ahead with research and development activities based on its Safety Shield approach with the aim of designing and engineering safer vehicles.

Safety Shield approach Nissan incorporated its Safety Shield approach within its existing safety technologies in fiscal 2004. This is a more advanced, proactive approach to safety, which embraces the idea that "the vehicle protects people".

Under this approach, the process leading to a collision is classified into six levels:
1 no risk is visible
2 a risk has appeared
3 a crash may occur
4 a crash is unavoidable
5 crash
6 post-accident

Suitable technologies (i.e. Lane Departure Warning, Vehicle Dynamic Control and pre-crash, pre-tension seat belts) are activated against the risk factors that occur at each of these stages to help prevent a more dangerous situation developing.

The vehicle activates various barriers according to the circumstances, from normal driving to post-accident, to provide continuous support against dangerous situations.

The driver is the key to accident prevention. That means conveying accurate information to the driver and having vehicle systems that respond faithfully to the driver's intentions. Moreover, when a collision is unavoidable, the vehicle intervenes to help reduce resulting damage and possible injury. Nissan plans to implement new safety technologies in its production vehicles in the coming years based on this Safety Shield approach.

ASV - Nissan announced earlier this month that it has developed a third-generation Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV) installed with a Nissan-developed vehicle-to-vehicle communications system which alerts the driver to potential collisions in five common driving scenarios. The driver is alerted through color-coded displays on an on-board monitor and an audio alert. If the driver releases the brake and continues despite the alert, the alert becomes louder.

The five scenarios are:
1 - Potential head-on collision at junction with bad visibility
2 - Potential collision with oncoming vehicle when turning right
3 - Potential collision with motorcycle when turning left
4 - Potential collision with stationary vehicle
5 - Potential side impact or collision when changing lanes (vehicles heading in same direction).

The new system is expected to improve overall road safety by enabling drivers to react more quickly to avoid such potential collisions. The above five collisions account for 60% of all traffic accidents in Japan, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Like other Japanese automakers, Nissan is working with the government to develop a standardized vehicle-to-vehicle communications system to reduce traffic accidents.

In addition to vehicle-to-vehicle communications research, Nissan is also working on an Intelligent Transport System that communicates with existing road infrastructure to reduce traffic accidents and alleviate congestion. For example, traffic lights that transmit signals to drivers alerting them to speed up or slow down depending on the color of the light.

On June 30, Nissan announced that it would begin testing such a project in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo by the end of the year.

Latest technologies to reduce potential danger

Around View Monitor - This system substantially reduces blind spots by displaying a 360-degree view of the area around the vehicle on a dashboard monitor. Easy-to-understand images displayed in real time are especially helpful in supporting the driver's maneuvers when parking, by assisting him/ her in steering the vehicle easily and accurately into the intended parking space.

The system is a further advancement of Nissan’s pioneering Rear View Monitor and Side Blind-Spot Monitor technologies.

Around View Monitor is featured on the Pivo and Amenio concept models being shown at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show.

Lane Departure Prevention - The LDP system recognizes visible lane markings through the use of a small camera mounted behind the rearview mirror. The camera’s signal and the vehicle’s speed are sent to the system’s advanced microprocessing unit, which combines the information to calculate both the distance between the vehicle and the lane marking and the lateral velocity to the lane marking. If it is determined that the vehicle is leaving the lane, a combination of visual and audible warnings are given. At the same time, the car's braking systems are activated, to help return the vehicle to its original lane.

4-Wheel Active Steer - This system is designed to improve vehicle stability and response at high speed and to reduce the driver's steering workload at low speed, by controlling the steering angle of all four wheels. It contributes to precise vehicle movement in response to the driver's steering inputs and also serves to reduce the steering workload by varying the steering gear ratio according to the vehicle speed.