Car Safety Technology - from Past to Present - Research Paper Example

Car Safety Technology: Past to Present Introduction The manner of how cars are made nowadays has immensely evolved from the time of its invention. Safety has already been a significant aspect in cars, putting it as a top consideration in car designs and car purchases (Wyman, 2004). In comparing early car models to modern vehicles that we have, evidences can be seen that manufacturers have responded to the calls of legislation and consumers for car safety through different innovations, providing options to avoid danger on the road. Several developments have risen to promote car safety, starting from simple inventions to modernized technological advancements. Beginning from seat belts, to the use of airbags in conjunction to seat belts, design modification like front and rear crumple zones, improved brakes, the modern rearview camera, et cetera, car safety technology has lowered incidences of car accidents as shown by several gathered statistics. All these highly developed car safety technologies together with continuous government campaigns and public awareness contribute to the lowest number of highway fatality and deaths in 2009 since 1950, despite the slight increase in road travel (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2010). This paper will tackle the improvements of car safety technology over the past decades in response to the high number of deaths brought about by vehicle accidents and injuries, as well as cite several modernized car safety features used nowadays, and recommendations on how to continually improve driving safety to all the passengers of the vehicle. Car safety failure and solutions As more and more vehicles were invented in the early years of automobiles, the number of deaths related to car crashes and injuries boomed with the trend. As the government and concerned members of society were alarmed with such mishap, there were pleads to innovators to come up with safety devices such as seat belts, airbags, and crumple zones, and the action of authorities to implement specific laws. History of seat belts The School Transportation News (n.d.) gives us a brief acquaintance on the history of seat belts. In the 1930’s, U.S. doctors fitted their own cars with lap belts and began urging car manufacturers to include the feature in all new cars, when they perceived the danger of dashboard designs in earlier vehicles. During the 1950’s, several developments arose: from the Sports Car Club of America requiring competing drivers to fasten lap belts, to the appointing of the Motor Vehicle Seat Belt Committee by the Society of Automotive Engineers; furthermore progressing to Volvo including 2-point cross-chest diagonal belt as an accessory, while Chrysler and Ford included an option for lap belts in some of their models, until Volvo’s design engineer Nils Bolhen patented the “Basics of Proper Restraint Systems for Car Occupants,” also known as the three-point safety belt, in 1958, and the same car manufacturer involved the said feature as a standard in their models in Sweden. In the 1960’s, Volvo adapted the three-point standard as well in the USA, and most U.S. manufacturers already provided lap belts in the front seats. In the U.S., seat belt anchorages and lap belts became required in front outboard positions then eventually to rear outbound positions; the Congress established what is now known as the NHTSA, as well as the U.S. Commerce made alterations on the seat belt standard. Europe, Japan and Australia also had several advancements with regard to seat belt use during this decade. The 1970’s through 1980’s was flooded with more seat belt-use progress with additional countries requiring its use, and the surface of airbags became evident, until the implementation of seat belt laws in different states came. The more recent 1990’s and 2000’s shifted attention toward including school buses and other types of passenger vehicles to seat belt-use advocacy, including specific alterations and adjustments to be made on the said vehicles to provide maximum safety, especially to children. In the years where seat belt laws were not implemented, statistics gathered by several government and private researches dubbed car injuries as a leading cause of death among Americans, compared to the lower figures when the legislation was enacted in different states. Car crumple zones Another important invention to promote car safety are crumple zones, which are “areas of a vehicle that are designed to deform and crumple in a collision,” thereby absorbing “some of the energy of the impact, preventing it from being transmitted to the occupants” (Grabianowski, n.d., p.1). The idea was pioneered by Mercedes-Benz engineer Bela Barenyi, making the 1967 Mercedes Heckflosse as the “first production car in the world with a ‘crumple zone’ safety feature” (Raiciu, 2009). Crumple zones work in the manner of physics, using Isaac Newton’s first and second laws of motion. The zones are present in both the front and rear of the vehicle, and absorb the impact of the crash by deformation, and delaying the collision (Raiciu, 2009). Through this, occupants of the vehicle are protected as the impact of the accident is not directed towards them but rather the force is redistributed. History of airbags Airbags have been in several issues as to whether it is indeed an innovation promoting safety to vehicle occupants, or if it poses a greater risk to those who opt to use the device. However, its history implies that its invention stemmed up from a need to protect the passengers of the car. As presented by McCormick (2006), in 1952, retired industrial engineer John W. Hetrick figured out designs for a “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles,” following an accident with his wife and daughter and gained the patent in 1953, similar year when German inventor Walter Linderer, received a patent for an “inflatable cushion” created to protect drivers in time of accidents. These early models are said to be the patterns of the airbags we have nowadays. Car manufacturers experienced dilemmas in designing the “perfect” airbag, as there has to be a precise amount of time for the bag to deploy, as well as it posed the risk of secondary injuries to the occupants upon contact (McCormick, 2006). In the late 1960’s, mechanical engineer Allen Breed came up with a crash sensor, “considered the world’s first electromechanical automotive airbag system,” and founded his own company, producing crash sensors and inflator modules (McCormick, 2006). During the 1970’s and 1980’s, car manufacturers started to include airbags as an option in their models, while Ford includes airbags as standard devices in their vehicles in the 1990’s. The U.S. federal government mandated the use of duel frontal airbags on all passenger vehicles in 1998 prompting manufacturers to follow the law. Meanwhile, the first airbag system for motorcycles was also introduced by Honda in 2006 (McCormick, 2006). Several car models from various companies now have the roof and curtain types of airbags to offer, and highly modernized technology has brought about intelligent airbag systems that can approximate the deployment speed and impact depending on the size and weight of the passenger in a certain seat. Compared to previous automobile designs without airbags, the present vehicles that possess the said feature are safer, as long as it is used according to its purpose, which is to be adjunctly used with seat belts, and when guidelines for children and adults are carefully followed. History of car safety seats for infants The National Safety Board (NTSB) (2010) has presented that motor vehicular injuries top as the cause of death among children in the United States. They have also gathered that more than 3,300 children ranging from 4 to 7 years old died while riding in motor vehicles from 1999 until 2008, these deaths most often resulting from noncompliance to safety guidelines for children according to their age, weight, and height, and instead restrained with adult seat belts or their safety seats are not placed in advised ideal places (NTSB, 2010, p.1). In response to these dreadful statistics, the government has come up with guidelines for children’s safety in automobiles, including mandated laws, and partnered with a campaign released on October 2005 featuring Disney’s Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother (Ad Council, n.d.a) to encourage parents to offer the utmost safety for their children while they are riding vehicles. Starting with Tennessee’s pioneering act of implementing child safety seat law in 1977, similar laws were passed by other states, resulting in 19 states enacting the legislation in 1982 (NTSB, 1998, p.56). Due to investigations undertaken by the Safety Board, they “recommended legislative action in the remaining 31 states and the District of Columbia,” wherein to date, all the 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently implementing such law (NTSB, 1998, p.56), saving more than 3,200 lives of young children between 1982 through1996, as taken from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (n.d., cited in NTSB, 1998, p.56). There are pointers advised by NTSB to protect children in automobiles: (1) children under age 13 should sit in the rear seat, if one is available; (2) using a booster seat and a seat belt rather than a seat belt alone for a 4-to-8 year old; and (3) making sure the right restraint for the child is used and installed appropriately, which means infants should be in rear-facing child-safety seats; toddlers until around 4 years old should be in child safety seats facing forward; children until about 8 years should be in booster seats; and children should use seat belts when they have outgrown their booster seats (NTSB, 2010, pp.1-2). By carefully following these guidelines, injuries from motor vehicular accidents are lessened, so as the deaths of these children. U.S. seat belt laws The United States does not adapt a federal legislation for seat belts, but instead, state implementations are present. However, in 2002, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Department of Transportation gave financial assistance to 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico through grant programs to carry out driving safety methods. In addition, campaigns are made to promote safety and public awareness, notably the advertisements featuring crash test dummies Vince and Larry (Seat Belt Usage, Anon., n.d.). Vince and Larry were products of the hand in hand collaboration of the NHTSA and the Ad Council in advocating driving safety through the Safety Belt Education campaign shown on television, role playing what could happen if seat belts are left unfastened. The campaign lasted for several years since its launch in 1985, and various statistics gathered during those years showed that indeed, Vince and Larry aided in encouraging Americans to “buckle up” (Ad Council, n.d.b). In all 50 states, there are seat belt laws covering children to be in specific safety measures according to age. However, with regard to seat belt laws for adults, New Hampshire does not implement such legislation. On the other hand, New York was the first state to have a mandatory seat belt law in 1985 and is continuously putting effort to promote driving safety, initiating a program called “Buckle Up New York, Click It... or Ticket!” (New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, n.d.). States can either implement the primary or secondary seat belt law. According to an article from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) (2010), 31 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands actualize the primary seat belt law; and 18 states enforce the secondary seat belt law; while New Hampshire still does not implement seat belt laws for adults. The primary seat belt law means that the police can halt a vehicle and charge the driver for simply not wearing the safety belt and with no other violations; whereas the secondary seat belt law allows police to ticket the driver without seat belt, only when he or she has been seen to have a previous offense that resulted for police to stop the car (Seat Belt Usage, Anon., n.d.). Besides the safety that buckling up can offer, Americans also see the risk of being fined and ticketed as another reason to fasten those safety belts. Advancement in car safety technology Rapid modernization and industrialization have provided manufacturers to come up with previously unimaginable mechanisms to promote road safety in cars. Tellem (n.d.), a contributor of one automotive information website, presents a list of top 10 high-tech car safety technologies, which are enumerated and described in this paper, as it is cited by several other websites. Found on the list is the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS). This works either through a direct system, where sensors are placed on the tires; or through an indirect system, utilizing wheel speed and other vehicle sensors (Safer Car, n.d.). Through an on-board processor, the data gathered from the sensors are interpreted, and the warning lamp lights up when the tire pressure is below the acceptable minimum level (Safer Car, n.d.). In 2001, the NHTSA has proposed installation of tire-pressure monitoring systems in all “passenger vehicles” with Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 10,000 pounds or less, effective November 2003 (NHTSA, 2001). With this mandate, car manufacturers have often incorporated the TPMS as a standard feature in their cars, like BMW (Tellem, n.d.). The adaptive cruise control or collision mitigation system can also be found on most cars nowadays. This system operates by programmable technology that can “maintain a safe distance between your car and the vehicle in front of you and to provide protection if a crash seems imminent.” Depending on the specifics of the system, this feature may apply panic breaks, alter seat belt adjustments, or deploy air bags in needed situations (Sclar, 2009, p.382). Blind spots, “the areas on both sides and rearward of a vehicle, not visible within the rearview or door mirrors,” (I-Car, 2009) can undeniably be causes of car collisions. With the blind-spot detection, otherwise side assist or collision warning, the driver is alerted on ways depending on the car manufacturers, if there are objects in adjacent lanes (I-Car, 2009). However, this feature is short-ranged only (Tellem, n.d.). A technology comparably of longer range than the blind-spot detection is the lane-departure warning or wake-you-up safety (Tellem, n.d.). This mechanisms utilize a “digital camera mounted on the rear view mirror stand pointing out around 25 meters ahead, which takes pictures of the road surface in front of the car” (Bello, 2003 cited in Ontiveros, 2005, p.3); with a computer interpreting the images and analyzes the lane location of the car (Safety Technologies for Commercial Vehicles (STCV), n.d. cited in Ontiveros, 2005, p.3). Whenever the computer senses that the car steers out of the lane unintentionally, the driver is alerted through an alarm or some sound, a visual warning on the dashboard, or steering wheel vibration (Bello, 2003 cited in Ontiveros, 2005, p.3). A document from Public Citizen (n.d.) traces the heed of citizens to the increasing incidences of rollover of passenger vehicles since the 1970s without federal response until year 2004. A few years later, rollover prevention or mitigation system was developed for vehicles. This technology “applies the brakes and modulate throttle as needed to help [you] maintain control” (Tellem, n.d.). The evolution of airbags over the years has progressed as well. When roof and curtain airbags have been helpful, occupant-sensitive or dual-stage airbags brought a revolution to this adjunctive safety device by sensing the various “sizes and weights of occupants as well as seatbelt usage, abnormal sitting position...rear-facing child seats and even vehicle speed” (Tellem, n.d.) thus providing optimum deployment safety of the airbag. Another car safety technology dubbed to be one of the best is the emergency brake assist or collision mitigation. This brake system distinguishes a driver’s panic stop and automatically exerts “additional brake pressure to help shorten the stopping distance” (Tellem, n.d.) to avoid bumping unto the vehicle in front of it. Through adaptive headlights and/or night-vision assist, driving on dark roads has been safer as compared to using typical headlights. Adaptive headlights are designed in such a way that it is “like a pair of eyeballs so the light is projected where the driver really needs it” (Carley, 2009), thus providing maximum visibility as areas ahead are illuminated. On the other hand, night vision improves visibility that cannot be provided by headlights, like in cases where “rain, snow, or fog reflect back in the eyes of the driver…and objects that do not reflect light well, such as pedestrians wearing dark clothing, black or dark gray animals, etc.,” (Carley, 2009) by displaying thermal images of these objects. Rearview cameras promote increased driving safety by lessening back-over accidents. Many kids and pets get accidentally run over because of the assumption that they are not there when they cannot be seen on the rearview or side mirror (Carley, 2009). Through these, image from the back portion of the car is readily visible on the screen, thus preventing back-over accidents. With various options presented for consumers, they can choose getting this technology on their cars at a value they can afford. Last on Tellem’s list is the emergency response feature in vehicles. The intelligence of technology nowadays allows vehicles to safeguard its passengers during accidents. A cited example is the Enhanced Accident Response System (EARS) by Chrysler, which engages after airbag deployment, and turns on interior lighting, unlocks all doors, and shuts off fuel flow to the engine in accidents, thereby allowing emergency personnel to access occupants. Other car manufacturers also have emergency assistance features like Volkswagen, General Motors, and BMW (Tellem, n.d.). There are a number of disputes as to whether the cited technologies indeed provide optimum driving safety or if these innovations merely make car manufacturers gain more profit as consumers are swallowed up in these safety ideas. Each company provides a demonstration of how these things work, and if they really work. Similarly, certain government agencies are tasked to test new cars if they pass the safety standards mandated by law. The performance of certain automobiles in different categories is ranked and presented to the public, urging manufacturers to come up with the best ideas possible. But then, the efficiency of these technologies may concern consumers on its cost much more than their doubts, especially after personal test drive experiences. Conclusion/Recommendation The above-mentioned progress in car safety technology and laws would imply that certainly, driving safety has improved in contrast to what was present in the 1950’s. Almost every step towards utmost driving safety has been provided by both authorities and suppliers. It is thus in the hands of the consumers to take advantage of such opportunity. True, seat belts have been adjusted to provide safety and comfort at the same time to passengers, but if they do not opt to fasten their belts, it will be deemed useless. Airbags have been placed in almost every possible impact location, but without its proper use they can be fatal instead. The brilliance of technology as can be found in the later portion of this paper has not only provided ways to survive a crash, but likewise how to avoid them. Investing in these safety technologies may scorch one’s pocket, but its benefits most probably outnumber its cost. However, to emphasize, there is no law necessitating the purchase of each gadget, but rather laws to follow the basics: buckle up and follow guidelines for airbags and children. There is a need for every occupant to make a habit out of fastening his or her seat belt, more for safety than of fines. Again, no matter how modernized and well-adjusted one’s car safety technology may be, an individual’s cooperation matters most. References Ad Council, n.d.a. Booster seat education. [Internet] Ad Council. Available at: http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=41 [Accessed 15 November 2010]. Ad Council, n.d.b. Safety belt education (1985-present). [Internet] Ad Council. Available at: http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=138 [Accessed 12 November 2010]. Carley, L., 2009. News technologies for safer driving: Adaptive lighting, night vision, backup cameras & blind spot detection. [internet] Bobcox Media. Available at: http://www.import-car.com/Article/60749/news_technologies_for_safer_driving_adaptive_lighting_night_vision_backup_cameras__blind_spot_detection.aspx [Accessed 15 November 2010]. Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), 2010. Seat belt laws. 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