Increasing the Car Technical Performance and Safety - Essay Example

Improving Passenger Safety At present, vehicles and car accidents have become one of the top ten causes of death in the world. Vehicles and car accidents have despoil a lot of people lives, those who we care about, our best friends and family members. Road traffic accidents are responsible for millions of deaths worldwide (Chaturvedi 116). Vehicles have become a threat to our society; especially in Qatar since the last year rate of car accidents have increased by 30%. However, we cannot eliminate the use of vehicles since they are our main transportation means, but we can always find a way to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. The majority of road crashes are as a result of human error such as exceeding speed limit, ignoring traffic rules and safety systems such as seat belts among others. Improving passenger safety in cars is very important so as to reduce the injuries associated with car accidents. However, this alone will not assist in minimizing accident rates because improving car performance and increasing awareness of traffic rules among individuals will significantly help reducing the rate of car accidents. By increasing the car technical performance, vehicles safety and creating awareness on the same, we can definitely reduce the risk of car accidents and injuries. The purpose of this paper is to describe methods and practices that can improve car safety and reduce car accidents to save more passenger lives. Generally, there are various methods and practices that can be put in place to improve car safety and save many passengers from unnecessary accidents some of which include traffic rules and laws, engineering and traffic management among others (Bartley 14). The use of safety seat belt, airbags as well as routine car testing help in ensuring that vehicles provide a reasonable degree of car protection (“Autotech 95” 54). Arguably, improving passenger safety should be the first priority for every driver. The most effective way to guarantee passengers their safety is by being an attentive driver, that is, a good driver need to practice good driving habits because with these habits, they are more likely to avoid accidents. More so, they should ensure that all their safety systems are in order and functional. Today, automobiles are properly designed and well equipped with advanced safety features that are very useful in protecting passengers from serious injuries or even death in case of a car crash. It is always important to ensure that all these safety features are used correctly all the time. For instance, it is always very important to ensure that all passengers wear their safety belts whenever the vehicle is in motion as a way of improving their safety. Generally, airbags and seat belts have been indentified the best safety interventions as they significantly reduce injury and death in automobile accidents. The side airbag system will help in protecting the head and thorax in case of a car crash (“Autotech 95” 106). Putting on a safety seat belt is probably the most effective way to prevent loss of lives or serious injuries in case of a car crash, for instance, these seat belts significantly reduce the risk of death and serious injury among drivers and passengers where there is an accident because they prevent these individuals from being ejected during a crash. However, those individuals who are not wearing seat belts are more likely to be ejected from a car during a crash and again those ejected during a fatal car crash do lose their lives from their injuries. Therefore, it is clear that safety seat belts assist in saving the lives of many people every year and so an increase in seat belt use will help save more lives than expected. Because of an increase in individuals’ awareness on this issue and implemented safety laws, seat belt usage is on the rise and thus many have been saved. Undeniably, improving passenger safety needs very effective and well-enforced seat belt laws that would encourage all passengers to wear seat belts. In addition, there is need to ensure that the fines for seat belt violations are increased to a level that will encourage seat belt use. Moreover, it is also necessary to ensure that other passive safety features of the car are active and working properly. Ensuring that all the safety systems on the car are serviced regularly is appropriate to avoid unnecessary accidents. More so, ensuring that the car’s engine, brakes, transmissions, suspension and tires are in good condition is also necessary. According to Limpert (1), the vehicle components such as the brakes, tires as well as the steering system play a leading role in avoiding accidents. The driver should learn to brake with control, however, braking practices depends on whether the vehicle has anti-lock brakes or not. If there is no anti-lock brakes, the driver needs to pump the brakes in order to keep the car under control and if there is anti-lock brakes, pumping the brakes is not necessary as the car’s ABS computer will pound them as required and so the driver needs to just hold the brakes confidently and steer normally. The key functions of a brake system include, slowing down the speed of a vehicle; maintaining the vehicle’s speed particularly during downhill operation; and holding the vehicle stationery after it has stopped completely (Limpert 2). Additionally, improving car performance is necessary in order to protect the lives of passengers, that is, a car that is in good condition will assist in avoiding an accident or minimizing injuries in case of a car crash. Furthermore, increasing awareness of traffic rules will as well help reduce the rate of car accidents. Individuals should be aware of the current traffic rules to ensure that there are always on the right side of the law while driving and obeying traffic rules usually help in minimizing the rates of car accidents significantly. More so, it is necessary to adjust driving while in a heavy traffic or unfavorable weather condition, for instance, driving at a lower speed in a wet and slippery road may be safe. Therefore, there is need to adopt reasonable and effective traffic rules that have been successfully designed to protect passengers from unnecessary accidents. Moreover, the traffic officers should make sure that every driver has a driving license and that every new driver undergo through thorough testing to make sure that they will not be liable to cause accidents. In most cases, it is very safe to drive at a lower speed because speed is one major cause of car accidents and this includes both excess and inappropriate speed. Therefore, proper control of speed of vehicles can assist in preventing car accidents and may be lessen the severity of the injuries of the individuals involved in the crash. Other precautions include anticipating potential problems that might cause an accident such as looking ahead for cars or pedestrians that may move into your car’s lane and also keeping a safe distance behind other vehicles. In addition, drivers should refresh their knowledge of traffic law and it is also necessary to use the media to draw the attention of all rod users and enlighten them on safe practices on the road. Another way to improve passenger safety is by engineering both the vehicles and roads. To begin with, vehicle engineering entails regular inspection to make sure that the main components of the vehicle are safe. More so, it includes improving the design of the vehicle so as to provide control to the driver and reduce chances of being injured during a crash since poor automobile design is also a major cause of accidents worldwide (Tiranasar 16). In addition, vehicle engineering comprises of fitting safety equipment including seat belts. More so, there is need to have improved fuel tank to help in reducing leakages during an accident (Tiranasar 17). On the other hand, road or traffic engineering includes the design of new roads which are safe, for instance, those that separate opposing traffic flows, provide wide traffic lanes, and have good visibility among others. Moreover, it covers the regulation of traffic movement through the installation of traffic signals, road mappings and regulatory signs and so on. Further, road engineering entails assisting the driver with warning and destination signs so as to help them avoid danger and be confused while driving. Lastly, it also deals with the improvement of the roads that already exists to reduce cases of accident and this is possible though realigning and resurfacing slippery surfaces. In conclusion, car crashes are witnessed daily and many lives are lost in the process and majority of these accidents are due to human error including exceeding speed limit and ignoring traffic laws and other safety interventions available. Surely, a lot need to be done to ensure that passengers’ safety is improved and the rates of car accidents reduced significantly. Some of the methods and practices that can be put in place to ensure that passengers’ safety is improved include, increasing car performance; creating awareness on road safety measures such as traffic rules; ensuring that all safety systems such as seat belts and brakes are in place and are used correctly all the time; encouraging drivers not to exceed speed limit; and engineering both the vehicle and the road among others. Therefore, there is need to implement all these so as to ensure that the passengers’ safety is improved and the number of accidents reduced as well as related serious injuries and deaths. Works Cited “Autotech 95.” Automotive Passenger Safety. London: Mechanical Engineering Publications for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1996. Print. Bartley, Graham P. Traffic Accidents: Causes and Outcomes. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2008. Print. Chaturvedi, Pradeep. Challenges of Occupational Safety and Health: Thrust : Safety in Transportation. New Delhi: Published for Safety and Quality Forum, Quality Council of India by Concept Pub. Co, 2006. Print. Limpert, Rudolf. Brake Design and Safety. Warrendale, Pa: Society of Automotive Engineers, 1999. Print. Tiranasar, Nut. Application of Total Quality Methods to Improve Efficiency and Increase Flexibility in Automotive Technology. ProQuest, 2007. Read More