Wired for safety

Carmakers and suppliers collaborate to augment drivers' skill and judgment with electronics.

After more than 100 years of automotive travel, the weak link in the safety equation continues to be the “nut behind the steering wheel.” Half a century ago, the machines themselves needed serious safety improvements, but today the low-hanging safety fruit has been picked bare.

That means rather than installing restraint systems and designing improved impact-absorption properties into cars, engineers are pursuing more ways to prevent the mistakes that lead to crashes in the first place. Robert Bosch cites research predicting the market for such driver-assistance systems will blossom to $1.3 billion by 2010.