While the goal is to reduce the number of road accidents caused primarily by human error significantly, in view of the numerous recent vehicle ramming attacks and the insufferable ease in which, in each case, dozens of innocent victims have been injured or killed, it would appear that a development in the artificial intelligence field in vehicles would be appropriate and also necessary for preventing the possibility of planned vehicle ramming.
A SAFER FUTURE STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD SAVE MANY LIVES
Imagine that the vehicle leased to the terrorists in Barcelona had stopped a few seconds prior to the ramming into the crowd.
Surely, with this technology, the vehicle would have noticed in time that it was not on a road, but rather in a pedestrian mall, travelling at an inappropriate speed and, consequently, the slaying of many innocent tourists and citizens, who simply happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time would have been prevented.
A number of vehicle companies are on a clear course to launch automatic vehicles that should be in-troduced into the market in about – 5 years during the 2020s.
While these vehicles would be more expensive than the cheaper and smaller vehicles currently avail-able in the market, over the years, indubitably the new vehicles would slowly and surely be introduced to roads throughout the world, most certainly in the crowded cities, for reasons of the lack of parking, fuel economies and preserving environmental quality and, of course, for reasons of driver comfort.
The notion of the vehicle preventing a driver from ramming into a crowd constitutes another aspect in the string of definitions that are entered into the new vehicles’ computers when they are introduced into the market within the next 5 to 15 years.
However, what would happen if the terrorists use an older vehicle, from 2017 for example, which has not yet been equipped with this protection array?
Therefore, until vehicles get the know-how for stopping automatically and preventing injury and death on the roads, more thorough thought and immediate action against ramming vehicles are necessary.
A RETURN TO REALITY: EXISTING ROADBLOCKS SAVE LIVES
Reminder – Booby-trapped vehicles already appeared during the previous century and in dozens of attacks thousands of people lost their lives as a result of booby-trapped entering into complexes such as an American tree camp, hotels, and other similar crowded targets.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, this was taken even further and booby-trapped donkeys, which appeared to be innocent, entered and were blown up by remote control.
For more than 15 years, mobile modular roadblocks have been protecting important installations and infrastructures against ramming vehicles and could also provide a solution for stopping ramming vehicles prior to successfully perpetrating the next murder.
Already in 2002, the Security Division at Mifram had developed the first roadblocks intended for stop-ping ramming vehicles and controlling vehicles entering into strategic installations, military camps, police stations, power stations, sport events and stadiums, which constitute a high risk to attacks in view of the multitude of civilians that congregate in a limited region and the participation of important personalities at the site.
The advantage of the mobile block system lies in the ability to change location and/or direction and/or upgrade the blocks without any new investment and infrastructures.
Mifram’s various mobile blocks are placed on the natural earth of the site in which the obstacle is being activated and infrastructure and civil engineering etc. work is unnecessary.
SECURITY IN PERSONAL ADAPTATION BLOCKS MANUFACTURED AND ADAPTED TO THE TYPE OF THREAT
Mifram has solved numerous problems and guarantees that our service includes providing customers with professional consultation and guidance.
Over the past two years, the company has assiduously developed courses for stopping various kinds of vehicles, for various purposes, involving a large range of weights, sizes and speeds.
As at the present, customers can characterize the threats that they have to cope with and provide Mifram with definitions of the visible restrictions of the location, the authorized stopping distance and, of course, the type, weight and speed of the vehicle to be stopped.
The company’s engineers will execute a precise simulation and provide customers with a solution or range of solution adapted to their requirements.
So, if you want to stop bicycles or various types of vehicles including trucks and semitrailers, current-ly, the company knows how to provide everything necessary for stopping vehicles of any weight up to 40 tons and at any speed up to 80 Kph as a standard.
If necessary, Mifram’s engineers can adapt the designated blocks, practically, to any threat at any weight and any speed individually with absolute certainty.
Should customers require protection against greater forces in the future, they can request an upgrade of the blocks that they had acquired or replace them with others of the same or other type provided by the company, which are better adapted to the new threats at the highest certainty level.
* Currently, the company is conducting a long series of experiments and qualifications for international institutions and anticipates commencing marketing new models already November 2017.