General Car Safety and Different Age Groups - Essay Example

Perfect brakes are a very necessary feature for safe driving. However, nowadays, even if your old car has excellent brakes, they will still be worse than those in a late-model car. That is because people today are too lazy to even put some energy into braking, and automobile companies are responding to it. The development of brakes from manual to power brakes, and from two-wheeler to four-wheeler brakes make that obvious. The brake system of a standard car consists of disc brakes as well as drum brakes. Disc brakes comprise a metal disc that rotates with the wheel, and two brake pads gripped in calipers facing the disc. When the brake pedal is pressed, hydraulic fluid forces the pads to rub against the disc, thus stopping the disc from rotating.

Drum brakes comprise a metal cylinder that revolves around the wheel, and two brake shoes. The shoes are curved pieces of metal lined with friction material made of asbestos or some other material that can resist the heat generated by friction. When the brake pedal is pressed, the hydraulic fluid forces the shoes on the drum, and the friction helps the wheel to stop. This complex setup of brakes makes it very easy for the driver to stop the car; thus, any error in this system is a major cause of life-taking accidents.

(MacVicar; Wyatt, Vol.2, 570-571, 1990) Another important safety feature in an automobile is airbags. Today, almost every saloon car has at least four airbags provided for the passengers. It saves lives, yes, but some people think they are more of a headache. They are those who hit their cars quite often and the airbag pops out even on the slightest bump. It emerges out of the steering wheel or the doors whenever the car is hit hard enough to cause an injury. It was a milestone in car safety when launched properly in 1998, but had some drawbacks that appeared later.

The airbag is made of nylon and is filled with nitrogen gas on collision. When the car is hit, crash sensors activate the inflator that fills the bag with nitrogen immediately deploying it. Although they are a lifesaver in major accidents, they have been known to easily injure passengers. The speed with which it is deployed can be responsible for injury to the passenger's facial features like breakage of the nose or trauma to the eye due to spectacles. This makes the airbag a drawback in situations where it pops out on slight hits.

In addition, it can be harmful to children and old people. Thus, the passengers should be seated as far away from the airbag deployment area as possible, and the river should point it toward his chest instead of his head. Moreover, the use of seatbelts is mandatory for the airbag to serve its full purpose. (Brain, 2000)Excellent car suspension is a very important feature for safe driving as it keeps the car in the driver's control. Precisely, it increases the road grip of the car thus maximizing the steering stability as well as comforts the passengers with shock absorbers.

The absence of perfectly flat roads makes suspensions necessary to prevent passengers from jumping continuously inside the vehicle, and for stable driving, especially cornering at high speeds. The now vastly available power steering makes it easier to turn the wheels while shock absorbers make a mountain feel like silk. (Harris, 2005) Tires play a vital role in increasing the road grip of the car as well as comforting the passengers. Tires with proper grip are mandatory for the car to run smoothly.