ZIBE blog experts have found that based on statistics, road traffic injuries account for about 25% of worldwide injury related deaths. Improvements in roads and automobiles have helped decrease that number somewhat in recent years. History shows us car safety improvement milestones that have been made over time in efforts to further increase automobile safety.

• 1930 – The use of seat belts and  padded dashboards were promoted by plastic surgeon Claire L. Straith and physician C. J. Strickland.
• 1934 – The first barrier crash test was performed by General Motors.
• 1950’s – Mercedes-Benz crash tested prototypes to great extent.
• 1958 – The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations was established by the United Nations. This set the standards internationally for body advancing auto safety. Seatbelts and roll cage construction were two of the safety inventions that were brought into the market.
• 1964 – The first rear-facing child seat was developed by Volvo.
• 1966 – The Department of Transportation, otherwise known as DOT, was established by the US government. Automobile safety was one of its purposes.
• 1984 – The first law requiring seat belt use in passenger cars was passed in New York state. This law was then adopted by all 50 states afterwards.
• 1986 – Volvo introduced the first break light that did not share with the rear light. This feature became federally mandated in the United States for cars released in 1986.
• 1988 – Volvo installed a head protecting airbag. This was made standard in all new car models.
• 2004 – New tests were designed to test the risks of new cars and SUVs by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). One car got a 5-star rating, the Mazda RX-8.

Currently further motor vehicle safety advancements are being made in terms of car safety measures and precautions. The hope of reducing, if not totally eliminating, harmful effects brought about by car accidents remains an important goal. Amidst all of our technological progress, one thing remains the same: vehicle safety should always come first.

There are some car brands on the market that have built a solid reputation regarding safety. Safety is of the standard factors considered when reviewing cars. Volvo, for instance, has always been associated with safety and the company continues to make it a priority in the cars they produce. It does share the glory with some other safety-concerned manufacturers whose products usually also get excellent crash test results.

The demand for safe vehicles

When it comes to features, safe vehicles are usually relegated to the back of the mind and inquired about almost as an afterthought. Perhaps families with children are more conscious of a vehicle’s safety ratings, but the majority of car buyers concern themselves more about performance and the driving experience a car can give.

2008’s Safest

Besides Volvo, some of the other car companies that also prioritize safety are Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Ford, Subaru, and Honda. Honda, in fact, has been very zealous in making itself known for safety. For the 2008 model year, the following vehicles are some that have been rated as the safest on the market:

1. Ford Taurus
2. Mercury Sable
3. Audi A6
4. Saab 9-3
5. Subaru Legacy
6. Toyota Tundra
7. Ford Edge
8. Lincoln MKX
9. Saturn Vue
10. Cadillac CTS

Ford had eight vehicles featured in the top safety picks for 2008. This includes vehicles from the company’s other divisions such as Volvo, Mercury, and Lincoln. Honda, including its luxury brand Acura, came in second with seven vehicles.

Have you seen “Speed Racer” the movie? Talk about awesome safety features. Of course they are mostly make-believe, or at least as of the moment. Who knows what technology will bring forth with regards to automobile safety in a decade or so? After all, the most advanced safety features we have now were mere conceptual glimmers in the past. For example, electronic stability control equipment now present in many luxury brands is gradually being made a standard by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in pretty much the same way seatbelts were made mandatory back in the sixties.

Manufacturers and different agencies continue to work at making driving safer for all concerned. Some of the latest safety features that warrant interest and approval are:

• Attention Assist – Mercedes-Benz has added another feature to its safety system. This one is aimed at tired drivers who have the tendency to nod off for a second. The system consists of a medley of sensors that monitor steering wheel movement, vehicle speed, lateral and linear acceleration, a number of vehicular operations, external forces such as wind and road surfaces, as well as the consistency of the driver’s behavior. As soon as there’s a drastic difference in the driving, the vehicle will issue an audible and visual alert.
• Collision Anticipation – This certainly represents a smarter cruise control with the ability to anticipate a collision and to charge the brakes for a more efficient stopping. Some of the carmakers that have come up with such a safety feature are:
  • DaimlerChrysler. It offers a combination of two radars that gives the car’s brains a somewhat 3-D perception of the objects around it.
  • Lexus. Its cars come with a combination of a distant radar focused on hard objects (cars, structures) and a short-range beam focused on softer ones (people, animals).
  • BMW. It has a similar system to Lexus called the Dynamic Brake Control.
  • Volvo. Its City Safety System is still experimental, but this involves a computerized steering control as well as the more common braking input.
  • General Motors. Still under development, the V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) system uses Wi-Fi and GPS technology instead of radars.
• Smart Airbags – The NHTSA has required that all vehicles produced after September 2006 have advanced frontal airbags. These come with sensors that can detect the gravity of the collision as well as decide which mode of airbag deployment is best for the situation.
• Tire Pressure Warning Gauge – Tire pressure is usually checked in aid of fuel efficiency, but this is also a standard safety measure. Low tire pressure can definitely lead to fatal accidents as what the Ford Explorer/Firestone Tire controversy proved. New models are now required to have a tire pressure monitoring system running on pressure sensors placed on the tire valve stem. The dash display will indicate when pressure falls lower than 15%. There are now also systems that constantly check tires and have their status displayed on the dash as a graphic.
• Rollover Protection – SUVs and convertibles are especially benefitted by this technology. Sensors detect the possibility of a rollover and launches screens of airbags from the ceiling such as Ford’s Safety Canopy, which is also available in Mercury, Lincoln, and Volvo SUVs. On the other hand, convertibles that have their top down at the time of an imminent rollover have roll-hoops that pop out of the seats to protect their occupants.

Who would have thought that a car could achieve such intelligence a few decades back?  A car from these times may be no Mach 5 with safety pod ejectors or arsenals of secret gizmos, but we’re not yet traveling highways with rollercoaster loops anyway. However, automotive technology is continuously working at making it safer and safer to drive on the roads we have now.