They may have maintained a similar layout with four wheels and a handful of doors, but in terms of mechanics, electrics and performance figures they’re virtually unrecognisable to the models that trundled off the first production lines.
One area to change radically is car safety and the extent of safety tech reaches into every aspect of the cars: from structure to tyres; fuel tanks to seatbelts; electronically-controlled torque and braking to modern use of radars, GPS and cameras.
30 years ago the installation of a single airbag was virtually unthinkable; today it's a mainstay of every new car on the road, with cheap models festooned with front, rear, side and curtain airbags.
But the airbag is just one of an arsenal of tools deployed in the modern car. Gadgetry that starts its life in military vehicles is commonplace in this day and age.
Radar. Lidar. Sign-recognition tech. Cars that read your driving and tell you to wake up if you're feeling drowsy. Cars that can theoretically drive themselves. Cars that communicate with other cars and use satellite technology to figure out your best route home. Cars that, by 2020, will never kill their occupants.
We take a look at best safety technology on the market today - and we'll look further into the future. But today we'll focus on the best safety gadgets that keep us on the straight and narrow - and protect us if we depart from it - every time we get inside.
The best advancements in car safety
Seatbelts
Seatbelts are widely regarded as the best safety feature ever to be introduced to cars but as car safety technology has become increasingly complex and received more exposure as a result, attention has moved elsewhere.
Despite looking basic and similar to their first iterations – seen initially in cars in 1955 – seatbelts and seatbelt legislation has changed.
When they were first introduced they were simple mechanisms called ‘lap belts’ which resembled aeroplane belts. Now there are a variety of different types of belts however the most common is the three-point which secures the passenger across three separate points – chest, pelvis and shoulders.
Lots of other seatbelts have been experimented with (including inflatable safety belts) however it’s the three-point which has survived the longest and since 2004 it has been a legal requirement for manufacturers to fit three-point seatbelts.
Airbags
Airbags are not a legal requirement in the UK however it’s unlikely that a car would ever taste sales success without at least two.
They were first introduced in the 1970s as a basic addition for drivers which were found in the steering wheel.
As everyone knows, airbags are designed to inflate during a heavy impact but that’s about as sophisticated as they got when they were first introduced and in some cases, airbags were the cause of death.
In recent years airbags have become far more complex and far more varied having moved from driver’s side to passenger and from steering wheel and dashboard to side and curtain cushions.
The latest airbag technology is perhaps the best yet as it varies its force depending on the size and weight of the occupant, their position and the scale of the crash.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
ESC is a brilliant system that combats skidding and a loss of traction; that’s why it is often called traction control.
It uses sensors to continually (up to 25 times per second) monitor traction across all four wheels and it estimates a preferred path for the vehicle whilst monitoring the actual path of the car.
If the two paths differ and the sensors detect a loss of grip or steering control it will apply the brakes or reduce the engine power acting upon the wheel which has suffered a loss of grip.
The Department of Transport found that cars equipped with ESC were involved in 25 per cent fewer fatal road accidents than those without. That’s why by 2014 all new cars will be legally obliged to have ESC.
Cruise control
In its infancy, cruise control was a basic piece of technology that maintained a car’s speed however the system has progressed and developed into one of the most sophisticated safety systems and driver aids on the market.
Now cruise control can use sensors to monitor the distance from a car in front and therefore alter a car’s speed to make sure that distance remains safe.
So, if a car brakes suddenly adaptive cruise control (as it’s more commonly known) will either apply the brakes or reduce engine power to keep a safe distance. When the car in front has increased its speed the system will apply the accelerator and return the car to its original speed.
That means the system is particularly useful in heavy, stop-start traffic.
BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Volvo are just some of the manufacturers who offer full cruise control at present however a number of others have long term plans in place to introduce the technology.
Lane departure warning system
Like adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning systems use sensors and monitors to take readings of the surrounding road.
Using either infrared sensors, laser sensors or video sensors the system will use road markings to gauge the car’s position on the road. If the system detects that the car is leaving a lane and either the indicator has not been engaged or the steering wheel hasn’t been turned a warning will be issued.
Warnings are usually audio or visual and if the driver fails to react sufficiently the warning will be issued again. Some of the more recent systems will also interfere with the direction of the car and counter steer to return the car to its original position.
It is almost identical to fatigue detection systems which monitor the car’s path as well as the driver’s interaction and activity. If it deems that the driver is fatigued it will issue a similar set of warnings.
Blind spot detection system
Blind spot detection systems again use radars and sensors to monitor the surrounding road conditions.
It is activated when the indicator is used and it will monitor the traffic in the direction you’re turning towards to see whether any vehicles are providing an unseen obstruction.
If something is detected in the blind spot, the system will issue a warning via the wind mirrors, an audio system or even a vibration through the steering wheel or driver’s seat.
Anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD)
Anti-lock brake systems are probably the oldest and most established safety technology in our top five, having been in use since the late 1920s.
It is an electronic system that prevents wheels locking under heavy braking which means the car is less likely to skid because the wheel keeps in contact with the road therefore allowing motorists to steer when absolutely necessary as well as reducing braking distances.
More commonly now, ABS is paired with EBD – a system which ensures even brakeforce is applied to both the front and rear tyres. More sophisticated EBD systems are able to apply the brakes and therefore improve traction on each wheel individually
Pedestrian protection
Pedestrian protection is something of a buzz word when it comes to car safety and one of the areas which is being targeted by Euro NCAP – the European safety institution and independent testers – as the area which needs most improvement.
From next year, new cars will need to score more highly in the pedestrian protection category to get a five-star safety rating encouraging manufacturers to focus more attention on pedestrian protection.
In truth manufacturers have been looking at pedestrian protection over recent years with a number of pieces of technology that uses sensors and radar to detect objects in the road already in use however structural changes have been given more attention.
Bonnets and bumpers are now built from sheet metal and other materials which give on impact, reducing the impact of the car and hopefully injury.
Most bonnets now have a gap of around ten centimetres between itself and the engine – again to reduce the force of the impact.
Some manufacturers have also introduced a pop-up mechanism where the bonnet will lift away from the more rigid fixtures of the front-end of the car to add extra clearance at the point of impact.
Night Vision
A number of manufacturers offer night vision systems as an optional extra on high-end models and they have been around for more than ten years.
There are two types of systems comprising of active and passive.
Active systems use pulser lights to pick out objects in the road before the reflected beams are reproduced on a screen inside the car. It is a more sophisticated piece of technology and ultimately more expensive because it produces a more accurate image.
Passive systems use infrared systems to capture thermal radiation emitted by objects before the image is reproduced inside the car. That means they have a longer range but a poorer image is produced.
Both systems work brilliantly at night and when visibility is poor because it has a bigger range than headlamps and provides a real-time view of the road ahead when it may not be possible to see with the naked eye.
Road sign recognition
Road sign recognition systems aren’t always considered as pure ‘safety’ technology and are often branded as driver aids however that’s perhaps unfair.
In heavy traffic, especially on motorways where high-sided vehicles are often in the inside lane, it can be difficult to anticipate, identify and read road signs. That can lead to rash manoeuvres on the road because speed limits are hidden, as are speed camera signs.
Road sign recognition systems eradicate that problem by helping a driver identify and understand speed limits.
It is currently available on the latest generation of Ford Focus however it is also available on a number of other models including the BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and Mercedes E Class.
Fatigue Detection
A number of manufacturers have developed fatigue detection systems which can monitor a driver’s activity and warn them if it deems they have become fatigued.
As countless motorway road signs tell us, driving whilst tired is extremely dangerous with 20 per cent of serious accidents on motorways and A-roads caused by driver fatigue, according to research by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA).
There are a number of types of driver fatigue systems which can look at the driver’s interaction with the car or the surrounding areas and it is the latter which is most common.
A forward-facing camera will monitor the surrounding road with a focus on lane markings. It will then decide where the car should be in relation to the markings before comparing the actual position of the car. If the two differ greatly from each other the car will issue a warning to the driver.
Normally the warning begins with a visual message on the dashboard before a visual and audio warning is given. The second warning will be deployed after a certain amount of time and drivers are required to react to turn the warning off.
Emergency Response systems
The final entrant in our top ten car safety features is perhaps the most obvious but it is something which has only recently been fitted in cars.
Emergency response systems differ across manufacturers with some offering automatic systems that will phone local emergency services after an accident and those which give drivers the option of phoning.
The systems will have in-built GPS location technology which means emergency services are automatically aware of the site of the incident and can react accordingly.
No comments:
Post a Comment