In the earlier stages of the car manufacturing, cars could ran at low speed compared to those today. Improvements in the car engines have led to increase in the car speed. Simultaneously the other parts of the car like brakes, wheels, etc., are also improved to fit into the engines capacity.
Along with these, safety features of the car also improved. The demand from the public and because of legislation for safety features in automobile made manufacturers to focus on including safety features. Until 1980s, safety was not a selling feature for cars. Awareness among public relating to safety in the cars increased because of independent crash tests by different groups. This article discusses the improvements in car safety.
- Seat belts: The invention of seat belts has more safeguarded many people’s lives than any other safety feature in the automobiles. Volvo was the first to introduce three point or lap/sash seat belt for standard fitting. It was launched in 1959 on the Amazon and PV544 sedans. Victoria is the first state in the world to make the seat belts for front seats compulsory in 1970. Making seat belt wearing while driving, reduced accidents by fifty percent.
Today’s seat belts are more effective than the first basic model. The problem of poor adjustment was minimized with inertia reel. Seat belt helps you – by taking slack out of system. And, will prevent the occupant’s excessive forward movement. When the body is being pressed tight, the load limiter releases the belt as per the senses it got during injury. Some of the advancements in the seat belts we can not see in the structure of the car itself.
- Electronic stability control: The earliest inventors of this system are Mercedes Benz and BMW. The electronic stability control takes the anti-lock braking system a lot further. It helps the driver take action prevent skidding by automatic sensing of skid occurrence.
Some cars have linked the electric power assisted steering with stability control system. It will help the driver in cases when they are using insufficient or excessive amount of steering input, the electric stability system automatically adjust the gap and correct the angle from a skid. Recent studies show that the electronic stability control is good at reducing single vehicle crashes.
- Car structure: Sedan was designed to minimize the harm to the passengers in 1960. Its technology allows the automobile engineers to estimate the destructiveness of the automobiles in their computers. It helps them create safer structures. Today’s cars have a strong and rigid passenger cell. Front and rear crumple zones, structure around the cabin and the rigid passenger cell protects passengers by absorbing, spreading and reducing the energy or force generated when crashes oaccur so the the impact is minimal on passenger compartment. The front end of the modern vehicle may be damaged more than it was in the 1960s.
- Air bags: General Motors in the USA was originally developed the feature in the late 1960s. These help reduce the injury and death in the event of crashes. The front air bags became very common in every new vehicle. Some cars that have full length have side air bags on vehicle window. These will protect passengers from head and upper body injury. The recent air bags technology allows the air bag deployment as per the severity of the accident.
- Brakes and tyres: Today’s tyres have more grip levels even in wet weather than the 1960s. The disc brakes are more reliable than the previous drum brakes in normal times as well as in emergency. The anti-lock braking system prevents the lockup under heavy braking and allows steering control.
The invention and the development in car-safety are still going on. Night vision technology in cars, automatic emergency calling, etc., are available in some cars. Some are in development stage. These allow the driver and the passengers for a safer journey.