Student victory leads to safer roads
The 2005 Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) conference held in the United States organised a design competition involving students from around the world, with Europe figuring prominently in the event. The EU-funded project 'Safety competition for students' (Safecos 05) spearheaded European participation in the competition and escorted one of the two European finalists to success. The project team financially supported technical models designed by European student teams and oversaw selection of European entries. The competition involved the design, development and demonstration of technological innovations by students to improve road vehicle safety and advance crash protection. This was considered important in that it encouraged students to embark on projects in science and technology (S&T), topics that are becoming less attractive to students overall. Government representatives, industry leaders and science players from Asia, Europe and North America took part in the conference, making it a valuable event for students to learn from. The conference, which took place in Washington DC in the United States is held each year in a different ESV member country. In Europe, members of the ESV are Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Countries from other parts of the world include Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the United States. Five top European entries were preselected by the European Enhanced Vehicle-Safety Committee (EEVC) for the competition, backing them in building a miniature model or scale model of their proposals. After the committee rated technical feasibility, benefits and innovation, the two top finalists were selected for the ESV conference. Two students of each team travelled to Washington DC to unveil their entries. An international panel of judges evaluated the seven finalists from all regions of the world. The 'Lateral safety for children' by the University of Valladolid in Spain was the proud winner of the competition, attesting to the team's ingeniousness and the high calibre work of Safecos 05.
