Traffic safety in China has emerged as a critical public health issue amid the country’s rapid motorization and urbanization growth. With over 440 million vehicles and 530 million drivers on its expanding road network, the challenge of keeping people safe is immense. Yet, despite these figures, road accidents are decreasing, thanks to a wave of innovative safety measures designed to keep pace with China’s road conditions.
In a move to enhance road safety, the National Standardization Administration of China (SAC) has introduced a national standard for door-opening warning (DOW) systems – GB/T 44173-2024. This groundbreaking technology alerts vehicle occupants to potential collision risks when opening car doors, offering protection for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. It reflects years of research and development (R&D) and uses advanced AI algorithms based on vision or multi-sensor fusion to improve the performance and reliability of DOW systems.
More than ten million vehicles across China are now equipped with DOW systems, boosting the automotive industry’s overall performance while providing enhanced safety for users. On a societal level, the DOW technology has helped reduce accidents caused by door openings, lowering injury compensation, vehicle repair costs, and enhancing safety.
China’s DOW standard is built on strong foundations, integrating ISO principles across the entire value chain – from R&D to production, testing and after-sales. This includes adhering to ISO 26262 for functional safety, ISO 9001 for quality management, as well as ISO’s flagship environmental and sustainability standards. ISO’s focus on continuous improvement also helped drive the ongoing development of algorithms and sensor technologies in DOW systems.
Looking ahead, China is set to play a pivotal role in shaping global road safety standards. The country will be sharing its engineering expertise and hands-on experience in DOW technology in the development of ISO 25354, the new International Standard for door-opening warning systems. China’s contributions will help define global best practice, enhance vehicle safety and foster worldwide collaboration in the automotive sector.