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The statistics of road accidents over the last two decades show that the number of accidents increases persistantly in approximate proportion to traffic density despite the improvements in vehicle design and road systems. Some 85 % of these accidents are the result of driver fault. Despite this, the number of fatalities and the severity of injuries tend to diminish, this is evidence of the effectiveness of passive safety developments in the design of vehicles. The parallel development of active safety technology has been less successfull, in part due to the risk compensation factor. This paper explains that there are also unchangeable biological reasons for the high incidence of driver fault as a cause of accidents, and why drivers need technical assistance to overcome their shortcomings. The paper outlines a programme of active safety technology development which is targetted to meet the drivers' requirements to achieve higher competence levels in critical situations.

The behaviour of two types of inertia controlled ball reducing valves is analysed and test results show how some measure of load conscious brake apportioning behaviour is achieved without the need for load linkages.

This paper on disc brakes for passenger cars with incorporated automatically adjusted handbrake mechanisms traces the way in which the experience with various alternative Girling adjuster systems is leading to recommended design- and development parameters for such devices.

This paper on single sided calipers traces the way in which experience of the difficulties in maintaining consistent performance with minimum drag for fuel economy is leading to wider use of sealed enclosed sliding systems for calipers accepting a small space penalty for the greater durability which is ensured.