Car Safety
Car safety has sure come a long way since arms were broken from simply trying to start the cars! (Broken arms were commonplace before the advent of the electric starter. Often, the car engine would backfire when a fellow was turning the starter crank on the front of the engine.) Thankfully, car starter technology advanced, along with everything else. Automotive safety has gotten to be a science all its own.
Gone are the days when safety was 100% up to the driver. Because with the ever increasing number of cars on the roads and the higher speed limits, car safety has become high-tech. And in the case of airbags and anti-lock brakes, it's not an optional add-on anymore. Safety has become a critical aspect of the manufacturing process itself, along with being federally mandated.
Microprocessors Helping Make Us Safe
Car safety takes on several forms inside and outside the car nowadays. While the person behind the wheel is still the best safety feature (or lack thereof) in a car, now the driver is helped by microprocessors. These computers are hooked up to equally high-tech hardware such as anti-lock brakes and active traction control devices. All which helps the driver keep the vehicle on the road and stopped before it hits something. But the main safety ingredient is and always will be--the driver.
Air Bags
Air bags are in every vehicle produced since around 2000, even in under-developed countries. And the better cars now have side-impact air bags. Car safety has truly been revolutionized by the introduction of these airbags. It's amazing to see two cars completely totalled and the drivers standing around the vehicles unscathed. All due to airbags.
Because even with an irresponsible and unsafe driver at the wheel--regardless of the other technological improvements in car safety like antilock brakes--the airbags have proven to make car crashes survivable. Some of these accidents that would otherwise be considered unsurvivable, turned out to be not only survivable, but often the occupants have been able to walk away from the crash scene. All due to the airbags deploying on impact and cushioning the driver's or occupants' heads and bodies.
The Latest Air Bags
The latest addition to airbag technology is the "curtain" airbags. These deploy from the area just above the
door frame--in a downward motion to form a "curtain" between the occupant's head and the window. This has proven to reduce head injuries.
So car safety has become an integral part of the design and manufacture of motor vehicles nowadays. And the insurance companies are loving it!
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