According to statistics more than a million people lose their lives annually to road traffic mishaps. Mishaps have been reported for all sorts of vehicle makes and brands. So if you value your life and the lives of your near and dear ones, making a car impact-proof is necessary.
Technologies And Measures To Make Your Car Safe For Travel
Most modern car manufacturers are incorporating technologies to increase cars’ durability and impact resistance. This article gives a list of measures that you can take to make your car safe for travel.Read on to know more about some technological advances that can save your life and your car.
An Anti-Lock Braking Mechanism
Anti-lock braking protects vehicles against skidding. It ensures car safety by improving the driver’s control over the vehicle which he is driving. If the wheels of the car get locked when brakes are applied, then the contact area between the wheels and roads cannot be appropriately maintained.
The system uses sensors to monitor the speed of each of the four wheels of the car. If the system senses a decrease in the rotational speed of any particular wheel, it takes that as a sign of a potential wheel lock.
In order to avoid a wheel lock, the anti-lock system reduces the pressure on the brakes of the concerned wheel so that its rotational speed increases. Likewise, if the sensor detects that a particular wheel’s rotation speed has increased too much, it increases the pressure on the brakes.
Thus the anti-lock system for brakes or ABS prevents the loss of control over a vehicle (skidding). When a wheel is locked due to excessive braking, the car moves under momentum; ABS modulates the braking to bring the wheel and the car’s speed at par.
A Sturdy Car Interior
Using fibers of carbon for the interiors of the car improves its aesthetic appeal and also improves its durability, and toughness. The plates made of carbon filament are pretty strong as pure carbon threads are wound to create them.
Carbon threads are better than steel in terms of reducing the impact of a mishap. Steel helps reduce the impact energy that reaches the occupants of the vehicle. Carbon threads dissipate the impact energy by cracking and shattering when a collision happens.
A carbon fiber car interior has several advantages beyond improving safety during an accident. Such materials reduce the weight of the vehicle.
A lighter vehicle requires less energy to move. So the fuel efficiency of such vehicles improves. This, in turn, reduces the cost of maintaining a car.
A System To Prevent Forward Collision
A common cause of motor mishaps that you witness today is caused due to the reduced distance between the rear end of one car and the front -end of the car behind it. Failure to maintain a safe distance between two or more cars results primarily from driver distraction.
A person who is busy talking or texting while at the wheel is highly likely to bang against the rear of a car in front of him. In order to prevent such a situation, sensors detect the distance between two cars.
If the distance is less than what is considered safe, the anti-forward system reduces the vehicular speed proportionately to avoid a collision.
A Driver Monitoring Mechanism
A tired or drunken driver has compromised motor skills. They are a potent cause of road mishaps all over the world. Although most governments have strengthened the norms against drinking and driving, the menace has hardly been curbed.
So technologies for driver’s behavior monitoring are a great way to prevent drunk/ drowsy driver-led mishaps. Technologies exist to monitor and analyze how a driver is driving. Indicators like sudden acceleration, sudden braking events etc., get monitored by algorithms. And an alarm goes off to make the driver pay attention.
A Cameras On The Rear End
Most drivers agree that parking a car in a shopping mall is the biggest test of their driving aptitude. Likewise, pulling a car out of a parking lot is also challenging. Most of the time, pedestrian and bicycle riders are at risk when a car uses reverse gear.
Most pedestrians and cyclists fall in the driver’s blind spot, and accidental collisions are not rare. In order to prevent such disasters, a camera on the rear end of the car can be of great help. These cameras give the driver a view of what is happening behind them and how much they should reverse their car.
Thus, rear-end cameras with a monitor attached in front of the driver has the potential to save many lives.
Buying A Vehicle With A Airbag
An airbag is made up of a fabric that inflates rapidly when sensors detect an impact. Most car accident fatalities happen because of injuries sustained on the head. The airbag protects the head and the chest region of the occupants of the car.
The airbag reduces the impact on the head as it does not collide against the solid car parts or face shattered pieces of glass. The sensors in a car monitor several indicators like the accelerometer of a vehicle, the speed of the wheels etc.
When some of these indicators show a sudden change, that implies some sort of a collision, and the airbags open up. However, many vehicle makers have suffered damages despite having an airbag system because their bags were not quick to open up.
So modern technology is focussing on improving the reaction time of the sensors, so that very little time is wasted at the site of the accident.
Conclusion
Technological advancements go a long way in preventing car mishaps and protecting the occupants when a mishap happens. However, the development of technology is a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, systems like anti-lock brakes and airbags protect the occupants and save their lives. On the other hand, the development of modern driverless cars creates new problems like accountability issues in mishaps.
However, careful use of technology and following traffic regulations does save lives. And administrators have to walk the tight walk between the pros and cons of technology.
