Modern Cars Safety features and design

Modern Cars Safety features and design

Tyler Schaefer, Community

Safety has become a high priority for car manufacturers in today’s world. It wasn’t common for cars to have airbags and now there are specific locations where airbags are required. In 1991, a law was passed stating that all vehicle manufacturers would be required to have airbags for both front seats. This law took effect in 1998. Airbags aren’t the only thing keeping you safe in a collision. Automakers also work hard testing and designing the car to be able to crumple on impact to keep the drivers safe. Areas like the engine bay and trunk space will typically crush/crumple very easily, while areas for support, such as the pillars surrounding the vehicle’s windows, and the firewall between the driver and the engine, have to be strong to prevent injuries to the occupants. Materials are a massive part of an automaker’s overall design, every part of the vehicle has a particular material that has been cautiously chosen from bumper to bumper. Some need to flex, some need to stretch. Most of the time manufacturers are looking for the lightest strongest material for optimal performance. Cars today have incredible technology and can make very Intelligent and precise correcting movements to keep the car steady and clear of a collision. Cameras are another feature that’s getting more and more common in modern vehicles. It’s rare to find a vehicle in today’s market that doesn’t have at least one camera. This is to provide awareness or theft protection for the driver. These can sometimes be used to prove the fault of an accident. Automakers will often test their vehicles in a testing facility with a plethora of equipment in order to document and get an in-depth visual of their car in an accident to see how they could make it any safer. Even using test dummies to see how to test the driver and passengers movements and safety during a collision. Tires are immensely important to get right as well. The chemical and compound ingredients change all sorts of dynamics of the tire. Tire manufacturers spend millions of dollars on research finding different tire compounds to see which will be best for which occasion. These tire compounds have improved traction drastically. They say that tires today could outperform the tires from 20 years ago, even in the rain. The makeup materials of a tire are held very secretive, so other tire manufacturers don’t copy and profit off of any hard work and research. This jump in safety in vehicles within such a short period of time is super impressive. The number of fatalities per 100 million miles driven fell from 1.73 in 1994 to 1.08 in 2014 This is super impressive and the numbers are only getting better from there. Getting a modern car is a very considerable option for a multitude of reasons, though they can be much more expensive the safety reliability and overall comfort are dramatically increased.