1. The M7 accident has aroused widespread concern
On April 26, a major traffic accident occurred in Yuncheng, Shanxi, where a Wenjie M7 collided with a car on the highway, resulting in a fire and burning of the Wenjie M7, killing all three occupants of the car. This serious accident instantly aroused great concern from all walks of life.
As an emerging electric vehicle brand, Wenjie has been trying to attract consumers' attention by creating advantages in intelligence and safety. However, in this tragic accident, the safety performance of the M7 is questionable. What caused the accident, and what are the shortcomings of the M7's safety protection? These questions need to be answered urgently.
In response to the accident, the official later issued a statement in an attempt to explain the key issues. However, this has not completely dispelled the doubts of all sectors of society. There are still many questions and concerns about the safety of smart electric vehicles.
This M7 car accident not only reflects many problems in the safety design and standards of smart electric vehicles in the mainland, but also makes the industry and regulators urgently need to take effective measures to effectively protect the lives of consumers. Only in this way can we truly promote the healthy development of intelligent vehicle technology in the mainland.
2. Four major questions raised by the M7 accident
Through the combing of the official statement of Wenjie, we can find that this M7 car accident mainly raises the following four key questions:
Why is the AEB automatic emergency braking system not working?
In this crash, the M7's AEB automatic emergency braking system did not work as intended, and did not brake in time to avoid or mitigate the collision. This has raised widespread skepticism about the system's capabilities and performance.
Whose product is the intelligent driving assistance system used in the M7?
In addition to the AEB system, the intelligent driving assistance function of the M7 has also been questioned. However, it is not yet clear who will be the exact supplier of this system, which is also an open question.
Why didn't the doors unlock automatically after a collision?
It is understood that most models will automatically unlock the doors after a collision to facilitate the escape of passengers and the entry of rescue personnel. However, the doors could not be opened during the accident, and this passive safety design also had major flaws.
Are hidden door handles hindering rescue?
In addition, the M7 adopts the design of hidden door handles, which also brings certain difficulties to emergency rescue work. Rescuers were unable to quickly locate and use the door handles, which prevented rescue.
These four questions are closely related to the safety performance of the M7, and directly affect the emergency response and rescue work in the event of an accident. The lack of clarity in the relevant details has also aroused widespread concern and doubts from all walks of life about the safety design of Wenjie automobiles.
Third, the safety of intelligent driving technology still needs to be improved
Through the analysis of these four questions, it is not difficult to find that the M7 car accident reflects that there are still many deficiencies in the safety design and standards of intelligent electric vehicles in the mainland.
First of all, the performance limitations of the AEB automatic emergency braking system reflect that the intelligent driving assistance technology is still in the stage of rapid development, and there are uncertainties in the safety performance. There are great differences in the braking parameters of AEB between different manufacturers and models, and it is difficult to guarantee its actual effect when facing an emergency.
Secondly, the question of the identity of the supplier of the M7 intelligent driving system reveals that the supplier pattern of the intelligent driving system in mainland China is still relatively scattered and fragmented. The level of product integration and algorithm level varies from different vendors, and auto companies focus more on price factors than safety, which leads to inconsistency in system performance between different vehicle models.
Thirdly, the failure of the automatic door unlocking function after a collision highlights that Continental still needs to further standardize and unify this passive safety standard. Although there are relevant regulations, there are differences in the specific implementation standards, which makes emergency relief efforts difficult.
Finally, the inconsistency of the design of the hidden door handle also caused inconvenience to the work of rescuers. This reflects the lack of clear and uniform standards in this regard, resulting in too large differences between different models, and may even affect emergency rescue.
To sum up, the problems exposed by the M7 accident are closely related to the shortcomings of the safety design and standardization construction of smart electric vehicles in mainland China. This needs to attract the attention of relevant departments and industries, and take effective measures to regulate and rectify them.
4. Countermeasures and suggestions to promote the safe development of intelligent vehicles
In view of the potential safety hazards highlighted by the M7 car accident, we believe that we should start from the following aspects to effectively promote the safe development of intelligent electric vehicles in mainland China:
Accelerate the formulation of unified safety standards for intelligent driving systems
First of all, the relevant departments should pay close attention to the formulation of unified safety standards for intelligent driving systems, and clarify the performance requirements and test specifications of key functions such as AEB. This not only ensures consistent system performance across vehicle models, but also facilitates industry consolidation and improves overall safety.
Promote the integration and upgrade of intelligent driving system suppliers
At the same time, automobile companies are encouraged to pay more attention to the safety performance of products when choosing suppliers of intelligent driving systems, rather than simply focusing on price factors. Government departments should also promote the integration and upgrading of domestic intelligent driving system suppliers, reduce industry fragmentation, and improve the overall technical level.
Improve and enforce passive safety standards
In terms of passive safety, the relevant government departments should formulate and implement a unified standard for automatic door unlocking after a collision as soon as possible to ensure that passenger escape and rescue work can be guaranteed to the greatest extent in the event of an accident. At the same time, the specification of the design of concealed door handles has been strengthened to ensure that it is easy to identify and use.
Strengthen targeted safety education and publicity
In addition, manufacturers should also strengthen targeted safety education and publicity for consumers and rescue personnel to ensure that everyone can understand and master the key safety functions of smart cars, and avoid rescue delays caused by unfamiliarity in emergency situations.
Improve mechanisms for accident investigation and responsibility determination
At the same time, the relevant government departments should also improve the accident investigation and responsibility determination mechanism, promptly summarize the lessons of the accident, and find out the cause of the accident. For models with major safety hazards, measures such as removing them from the shelves should be resolutely taken to cut off the spread of potential safety hazards. For the relevant responsible parties, they should also be severely punished in accordance with the law, so as to form a strong deterrent.
Strengthen safety supervision of the whole society
Finally, we call on the whole society to participate in the safety governance of smart vehicles. It is not only necessary to play the role of government supervision, but also to take the initiative of enterprises and the active participation of consumers, so as to form a benign interaction between the government, enterprises and consumers. Only with the joint efforts of all parties can we truly promote the safety of intelligent vehicles in mainland China along the road of healthy development.
In general, the various safety hazards reflected in the M7 accident need to be paid close attention to by relevant departments and industries. We must take practical and effective measures to improve the safety performance of smart cars and safeguard the safety of consumers' lives and property, from improving standards, integrating suppliers, standardizing design, strengthening education and publicity, and improving investigation mechanisms.
Only in this way can we not only promote the healthy development of the intelligent automotive industry, but also create a safer and more secure travel environment for the majority of drivers and passengers. This is not only related to personal interests, but also to the overall situation of the country's economic and social development. Let us work together to promote the development of China's intelligent car industry in a safer and more reliable direction.