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Five Safety Technologies That We Take For Granted

Over the years, automobiles and automobile technologies have gone through a massive metamorphosis. And what would have amazed us a couple decades ago leaves us wanting for more now. An excellent case in point would be the first C4 Corvette (1984) created frenzy among the media and people alike with its 205 horsepower and weight 3,239 pounds. The current MX-5 Miata weighs around 2,400 pounds and churns out 167 horsepower. But that's talking about the power of a car. But when it comes to the safety of a car, it is rather difficult to assess. What car safety features remained exclusive for an S-Class owner before have become a commonplace for entry-level cars.

We present to you a list of safety technologies that benefit you every time you drive your new car.

Seat belts

Seat belts have a history of more than a century now. Patented during 1885, they found their way inside an automobile only during late 1940s and early 1950s. Nash started seat belts as an option in 1949, later Ford followed in 1955. Seat belts got their due popularity when Saab, in 1958, included them as standard equipment. Other U.S. auto manufacturers followed suit later and a legislation, in 1959, made it mandatory for automakers to build safer cars.

The three point seat belts that we see today were started by Volvo in 1959. Auto manufacturers have tried a number of methods to get people to buckle up inside the car including ignition interlocks.

Antilock brakes

Antilock brakes were designed for usage in aircraft, where threshold braking presented one of the biggest challenges. Efforts by manufacturers like Ford and Jenson proved futile and the idea of automobile ABS was shelved until better technology could come to the rescue. Chrysler, in 1971, introduced an ABS system known as "Sure Brake" on their popular model, Imperial. Developed in alliance with Bendix Corporation, "Sure Brake" was an expensive affair.

Cadillac followed close behind and introduced rear wheel ABS as an option on few of its 1971 models. The Mercedes Benz S-Class brought the first all electronic 4 wheel multi-channel ABS in 1978.

Air bags

The idea of an airbag popped up a long time ago and components of an airbag system were developed as early as 1952. Inventor John Wenrick was the first one to come up with an inflatable safety cushion. Wendrick's airbag system lacked an inertial sensor design to trigger its deployment, which proved to be rather unfortunate for him and the patent expired. Ford and Chevrolet started incorporating airbag systems in their test fleet in the early 1970's. Initially, airbag systems were used as passive substitute for seat belts. But a few accidents in the test vehicles convinced the engineers to include airbags as part of a safety system that also included seat belts and shoulder harnesses. In 1974, General Motors introduced driver and passenger airbags as options on some its Buick and Cadillac and Oldsmobile models. However, Mercedes brought the seat belt pre-tensioners in 1980, as a part of the airbag system in their S-Class Mercedes Sedan.

Radial tyres

Radial tyres were first designed in 1915, but they did not see any significant development until Michelin brought the first commercially available radial tyres in 1946. Previously the tyres were bias ply, and the tread and sidewalls included the same belts of fabric or steel. This was considered to be bad because, all sidewalls flexing is transmitted to the tread, which deteriorates the shape of the contact patch and builds up heat. In simpler terms, if you cornered harder on the bias ply tyres, the contact patch was likely to be smaller. Additionally, bias ply tyres offers a shorter life span, mostly due to their reduced contact area with the road, almost up to 40 per cent less than radial tyres.

Electronic stability control

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has become one of the most important parts of the safety features on any new or used cars. ESC uses a series of sensors to detect a loss of steering control. While a lot depends on the manufacturers and type of system, mostly the power can be reduced to the drive wheels, sent to wheels with more traction or braking can be directed to wheels that retain more traction. ESC can correct a number driving errors, as long as the driver stays within the laws of physics.

Development process for ESCs started during the 1980's. By 1987, leading luxury car makers like Mercedes and BMW intorduced modern traction control systems that lowered the loss of traction to the drive wheels. These systems lacked steering angle sensor and yaw sensor and did not monitor non-driving wheels, and, hence, could help maintain only straight line traction.

The end of 1980 saw both Mercedes and Mitsubishi develop an early stability control system for use on their respective flagship automobiles. Presently, ESC is available on a vast array of cars, trucks and SUVs.