Definition of Motor Vehicle Disaster - Case Study Example

MOTOR VEHICLE DISASTER. Introduction Motor vehicle disasters account for more deaths than all the other disasters combined together, it occurs when a vehicle has been involved in a collision course with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal or with physical still obstacle. Motor vehicle collusion may lead to an injury, property damage or even death. There are quite a number of factors that will contribute to the motor disaster, these may include: Design of the vehicle, road design, driver impairment and weather conditions. The disaster may be classified according to mechanism such as head on collision, rear-end collision, side on collision, run-off road collision and rollovers. Pic 1.0 Pic 1.1 Pic 1.3 Picture1.0 shows a head on collision, picture 1.1 shows a run off road collision while picture 1.3 shows a rollover. In a 1985 report based on British and the American crash data it was found that human factors contributed to more than 93% of all the crashes (Harry & Jerry, 1995) A number of reasons has been given as to why there are a lot of motor vehicle crashes and some of the main reasons cited have been: some drivers feel more confident than the others and therefore this overconfidence grows till something goes unchecked properly and an accident occurs, others are attributed to the road designs, the vehicle speed which has widely been asserted by the Road and Traffic Authority of the New South Wales Australia that speed is a critical factor in most of the disasters around and driving slower than the prescribed average for some highways or even faster has a higher tendency to lead to accidents (Roads and Traffic Authority). Other factors may include alcoholism, old age, sleep deprivation, drug usage, motor vehicle design and maintenance. In our case we are going to entirely concentrate in Motor Vehicle Design and Maintenance as a factor towards motor vehicle disaster. Motor Vehicle Design & Maintenance. In the world today there are a number of technological advancements geared towards modernization of motor vehicle technology mainly to improve on their safety, money is being pumped up by companies, governments and research institutes to develop the best approach in motor vehicle disaster avoidance, there are ongoing researches on which new feature will aid in disaster reduction and which new material will mitigate the risk posed by some of the materials used in motor vehicle design. To begin with, a well designed & maintained vehicle with good tires, proper braking system, and a well adjusted suspension system is more controllable in an emergency situation and can avoid minor road accidents easily. This has eventually led to the design of vehicles evolving by being designed to protect the occupants in case of a collision. This design innovation has led to intense competition & technological innovation such as the ABS braking system & Airbags within the motor vehicle industry. Motor Vehicle Disaster research could be traced to as back as 1946 when Saab motor corporation reinforced the roof pillars of its motor vehicle as a standard feature, following that in 1959 Volvo also introduced seatbelts as a standard feature for its vehicles and this has lived to be a standard safety feature for any motor vehicle before it goes out to the road. Some of the common features being designed and constantly being improved upon a vehicle safety may include safety glass, stronger bodies, airbags, ABS braking system and Center of Gravity. Centre of Gravity Vehicles rollovers have become very common nowadays mainly attributed to the rising number of SUVs, People carriers and minivans which have more weight at the top than standard passenger cars. These rollovers are very fatal when an occupant did not wear a seatbelt because he is likely to be swirled within the interior of a vehicle several times, this has led to modern motor vehicle manufacturers such as the Mercedes-Chrysler group enhancing the vehicles suspension using stability control, linking it to its ABS braking system to reduce the possibility of a rollover. This has eventually enabled Mercedes to see fewer of its recent models feature less in roll over’s. Today most of the vehicles entering the market to be precise 40%, including the SUVs, Pickups and vans that are more susceptible to rollovers, come with a low centre of gravity including an enhanced suspension with stability control linked to the ABS feature to reduce the risk of a possible rollover this is also in re-alignment with the US federal requirements that mandates anti rollover technology by September 2010 (Insurance Journal) With distribution of weight affecting a vehicles centre of Gravity, which is very likely to affect a vehicles performance and safety. There are assumptions that a vehicles weight is on the front axle and some weight distributed on the rear axle, this is known as the fore aft weight distribution mechanism. Weight may also be distributed on a particular side of a vehicle due to the location of various components, this is known as side to side and it needs to be evenly distributed to avoid overloading on a particular side. The third one is known as the up-down direction which is usually determined by the location of various components e.g. the body, water tank and hose load. The vertical weight has to be kept at minimum to prevent the vehicle from easily overturning when making turns. Fig 1.0 The above figure shows the types of vehicles and their susceptibility to rollovers, as you may note SUVs are most likely to roll due to their high Centre of Gravity. This centre of gravity of a motor vehicle depends on the three weight distribution mechanism because it is the main point where all the weight has to be distributed evenly to maintain a force of equilibrium necessary in preventing the vehicle from easy toppling (Chris Carvette, 2007). Lowering the vehicles frame may help in keeping a lower centre of gravity, this is factored by the height, front & rear suspension and may be achieved by using low profile tires rather than the standard profile ones. Utilizing the wide track axles by specifying axles that places the tires further apart which eventually provides a wider base for the motor vehicle and significantly increases the angle at which the vehicle will topple during maneuvers. Wide track axle also enables wider bodies to be built which in the long run makes it easier to build vehicle with an overall lower height (Chris Carvette, 2007). Antilock Braking System (ABS) Technology. This is a modern safety braking technology that prevents the wheels of any motor vehicle from locking itself up while it is braking. The rotating road wheel will easily enable the driver in maintaining his/her steering control under the influence of heavy braking by preventing an unwanted skid of the motor vehicle and allowing the wheels traction to continue with the roads surface. Recent version of the ABS technology does not only prevent the wheel from locking under braking conditions but they electronically control the front-rear brake bias. This capability is also known as the electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, traction control system and electronic stability control system. These particulars definitions depend on the capabilities and implementation mechanism used. There are three main types of ABS system in use, the four channels, four sensor systems which consist of a speed sensor and separate valves used to control the brake pressure in each and every wheel. There is also the three sensors technology, three valve system, which comes with a speed sensor and a controlling valve for the front wheels and a single channel and a main valve which prevents any locking up of the vehicles rear wheels. Finally there is the single channel with a single sensor that normally operates on both the rear wheels (David et al, 2004). In a study on GM vehicle models where ABS was unavailable it was found out that on wet roads ABS reduced the risk of a vehicle colliding into a lead vehicle compared to the vehicle being hit from behind by 48% (+/- 15%) thus it was also revealed that ABS technology increased risks of being hit from behind by approximately 30% and this was mainly due to an increase in risk taking behaviors from ABS technology drivers (David et al, 2004). The effect of ABS in reducing crashes is more evident in wet weather conditions and it was revealed that multi vehicle crashes due to wet weather has been reduced by 24% and the non-fatal crashes by up to 14% (Kahane, 1994) Other technologies that may assist ABS are the: Traction Control System: Here the wheel is prevented from continuously spinning by combining the engine power control and the individual braking of the wheels. The wheel sensors detect any form of wheel motion and immediately limits the power from the engine and at the same time increases the brake pressure of the moving wheel. This eventually helps the vehicle in maintaining stability and keeping traction on the road. Emergency Brake System: An inadequate brake pressure will prevent the vehicle from braking to its maximum potential. By detecting an emergency brake situation the emergency brake mechanism will apply the maximum braking pressure to the point of triggering the anti lock brakes and thereby ensuring that the stopping distances are minimal as possible. Brake Distribution System: This system works by detecting a danger and will always attempt to restore the vehicle to a more stable position by controlling the vehicles dynamics and applying a predetermined braking input automatically that stops the vehicle (David et al, 2004) With such technologies being constantly researched there is a very high tendency that most of the motor vehicle disaster will be significantly reduced and to be concise they have been reduced, it is only that some of our drivers are over confident on the road either because either they feel that they are good drivers or they have the overconfidence that some of these features exist on their vehicles. The table below shows worldwide road fatality rates in different countries. Worldwide Road Fatalities in 2007 Western Europe Number of Fatalities 2006/2007 % Austria 691 -5.3 Belgium 1067 -0.2 Denmark 406 32.7 France 4620 -1.9 Germany 4949 -2.8 Netherlands 791 -2.5 Portugal 854 0.5 Spain 3823 -6.8 Sweden 471 5.8 Turkey 5004 8.0 United Kingdom 3059 -7.2 Other Countries Australia 1616 1.1 Canada 2729 -5.6 Japan 5744 -9.6 Korea 6166 -2.5 New Zealand 422 7.9 United States 41059 -3.9 The table 1.0 above courtesy of International Transport Forum. NB: Countries selected at random. The fatality risk for passenger in an ABS fitted vehicle is approximately 11% higher than of an occupant in a non ABS fitted vehicle but the risk of an ABS fitted motor vehicle being involved in an crash fatal to a person is 17% lower than the risk possessed in a non ABS vehicle (David et al, 2001). Air Bag Technology. This is a safety device that automatically inflates itself in-case of the vehicle being involved in a collision course. This device is packaged inform of a bag and mainly prevents the vehicle occupants from colliding with the interior objects such as the steering or broken windshield panels. However, airbags are not alternative to seatbelts and cannot replace them whatsoever, therefore they are only supplemental. Seatbelts have and must to be worn at all times to reduce injuries during road accidents. Airbags are common place and have become a standard feature in most of the cars today, and the curtain airbag which protects against side collision are also common. Other types of airbag may include; knee airbag which is located beneath the steering wheel and some models include passenger versions, there is the rear curtain, the rear centre and the new rear seatbelt airbag which is only available on concept cars such as the Lexus LFA and the 2011 ford explorer. Airbags work by triggering a sensor which consists of an IC with integrated micro mechanical elements. These elements respond to rapid deceleration and it is this motion technology that causes a change in capacitance within the electrical circuit that eventually will trigger a signal to fire the bag. Most of the airbags automatically deploy in the event of a fire outbreak, they do this by sensing the atmospheric temperatures and should they sense anything between 150-200 Degrees Celsius they automatically come out. Pic 1.3 Pic 1.4 Picture 1.3 shows an airbag simulation in action with passengers in the vehicle while Pic 1.4 shows a deflated airbag in a vehicle without passengers. Off recent past the location of airbags in motor vehicles has continuously changed tremendously, this is mainly attributed by an industry trend to recess the driver’s airbag into the steering column, but this change has been slight with the average driver’s airbag being recessed only 0.2 inches below the pane of the steering wheel. There have also been similar moves at the passenger air bag mounting location, the direction of movement of the airbag module, the airbag module opening size, the breakout pressure, bag fold patterns, air bag mass, Air bag inflation time, inflation agent among others (John et al, 2001). These researches clearly demonstrate the magnitude of motor vehicle crashes and the envisaged benefits that some of these researches uphold. The below graph shows accident statistics in 2007 among all road users versus the pedestrians in U.K. Fig 1.1 Conclusion. With proper vehicle designing enhanced by superior technologies such as the ABS technology, Centre of Gravity and Airbag we could really reduce the number of disaster occurring on our roads, but a point worth noting is that most of the accidents do not occur as a result of external factors such as design of the roads, weather and the technology used in cars but they occur as a result of our own neglect due to the superiority complex possessed by our own drivers. Should this trend change then we are likely to witness fewer road accidents and this will probably save our nation the huge sums of money that we already spend in medication for the accident victims, repairing the damaged goods and even burying our loved ones. With increased civic education our drivers particularly the younger drivers there can be a change of heart & attitude needless to say with increased funding for our research and development on newer safety technology in our motor vehicles our scientists will be in a better position of developing products and systems within our motor vehicle industry that will help in reducing the number of accidents in our roads, this can only be achieved by the government, academic & research institution and corporate organizations collaborating and having a common voice on modern motor vehicle research trends. References. 1. Harry Lum & Jerry A. Reagan. (2005). Interactive Highway Safety Design Model: Accident Predictive Module. Public Roads Magazine. 2. Insurance Journal. Anti rollover Technology for New Cars. 2006-09-15. 3. Chris Carvette. (2007) Understanding a vehicle centers of Gravity. Retrieved on Nov 27, 2009. Available http://firechief.com/apparatus/vehicle_cog_0907/ 4. David Burton, Amanda Delaney, Stuart Newstead, David Logan, Brian Fildes. (2004) Effectiveness of ABS and Vehicle Stability Control System. Royal Automobile Club of Victoria. Retrieved on Nov 28, 2009. Available http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/Other/RACV%20ABS%20braking%20system%20effectiveness.pdf 5. Kahane, C. Preliminary Evaluation on the Effectiveness of Anti-Lock Braking System for Passenger Cars. NHTSA technical report. December 1994. 6. John Hinch, William T. Hollowell, Joseph Kaniathra, William D. Evans, Terry Klein, Anders Longthorne, Sabrina Ratchford, John Morris, Rabesh Subramanian. (2001). Airbag Technology in Light Passenger Vehicles. Office of Research and Development. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Revision 2. Retrieved on 28th Nov, 2009. Available http://www.autosafety.org/uploads/phpLktryc_ReplyExhQ.pdf 7. Pic 1.0 Head on Collision. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://images.google.co.ke/imgres?imgurl=http://www.northwestrecon.com/_borders/overhead%2520vehicles.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.northwestrecon.com/&usg=__BSxaTYdSnTmOsdxbiG2s_5vBacA=&h=2000&w=3008&sz=4867&hl=en&start=2&itbs=1&tbnid=BLRfbUxcNUIjxM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daccident%2Bvehicles%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 8. Pic 1.1 Run off road Collision Vehicle. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://images.google.co.ke/imgres?imgurl=http://www.meanschiropractic.com/images/car-accident.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.meanschiropractic.com/autoaccident.html&usg=__i58BkF-O8QVK1yKVVC2v2dRi04o=&h=600&w=800&sz=130&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=fzfqUt1FPSt0CM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daccident%2Bvehicles%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 9. Pic 1.2 Rollover Vehicles. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://images.google.co.ke/imgres?imgurl=http://www.anthonares.net/car_crash.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.anthonares.net/2006/01/physics-of-traffic-safety.html&usg=__el3Y1evH7-1Uylk4_6phwM1larE=&h=398&w=578&sz=56&hl=en&start=4&itbs=1&tbnid=x41DMH9AZ62dUM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daccident%2Bvehicles%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 10. Fig 1.0 Rollover Susceptibility. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/images/cv/rollovercrashes2003.gif 11. Table 1.0 Worldwide Road Fatalities. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://images.google.co.ke/imgres?imgurl=http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-news/statistics/worldwide-accidents-per-million-population.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-news/statistics/2007-vehicle-accident-statistics.htm&usg=__N7Ul-l5lFi42uMqkzoEIPtmSbPQ=&h=804&w=424&sz=14&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=2nsAJH3IIVeHwM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=75&prev=/images%3Fq%3D2009%2Bworldwide%2Broad%2Baccident%2Bstatistics%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 12. Pic 1.3 Inflated Airbag Simulations. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://images.google.co.ke/imgres?imgurl=http://www.carbuyersnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/airbag.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.carbuyersnotebook.com/missing-airbag-responsible-for-1-in-5-fatal-accidents/&usg=__VtSyOa1Br3ne5juK3hb9L47SQCo=&h=463&w=656&sz=18&hl=en&start=13&itbs=1&tbnid=Q03hMIf236L7KM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=138&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvehicles%2Bairbag%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den 13. Pic 1.4 Deflated airbag. Retrieved on 1st December, 2009. From http://images.google.co.ke/imgres?imgurl=http://blogs.webmd.com/eye-on-vision/uploaded_images/airbag.jpg-792763.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blogs.webmd.com/eye-on-vision/2008/03/airbags-save-lives-may-sacrifice.html&usg=__jIW_kb619uvsFjS_C2mCqC1IcPU=&h=292&w=411&sz=20&hl=en&start=9&itbs=1&tbnid=2bc-uEGjzTNqnM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvehicles%2Bairbag%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den 14. Fig 1.1 Accident Statistics. Retrieved on 2nd December, 2009. From http://www.statistics.gov.uk/images/charts/1208.gif Read More