Even though the automobile industries has made many gains regarding driving safety, with tolls dropping from 43,510 in 2005 to 33,654 in 2018, driving is still one of the most dangerous activities humans can do. But the industry is making incredible advances in vehicle safety and at a very quick rate. There has been a lot of progress made especially when it comes to active crash avoidance and materials. Even though it will be difficult to avoid completely any kind of accidents, with the new technological advances, society will get quite close to zero. There are also great insurance policies nowadays, so do your research first and read reviews other customers write about these insurance companies, such as AA Car Insurance Reviews and Lexham Insurance, and find out which insurer covers your vehicle’s needs.
It can be surprising to many that some of the biggest safety improvements do not come from electronic systems put in place in cars but in the materials used to build cars. Through the last decades, steel has been getting stronger, by using highly strong steel stamped hot and cooling it very quickly, it allows it to form in variety of complex shapes, and its design and material helps determine how the car will deform in an accident. Even though steel has become lighter, heavy doesn’t necesarily mean safe, as many people assume. Back in the 50’s and 60’s, when a crash happened, since the steel was so stiff, the deceleration went through the passenger’s body creating worse injuries. The type of steel and designs used today helps minimize weight and control the way the energy travels in the crash. Also, the use of other materials like aluminium, carbon fiber and magnesium, also helps dissipate and redirect crash forces, creating an effective mix of materials and impact areas.
Another big revolution is coming from the field of technology and active accident avoidance. While crash performance is still extremely important, much of today’s industry is focused on trying to avoid those situations all together. The techology of accident avoidance has been developing in the sub-fields of autonomous driving, auto braking and self-steering cars. Autonomous emergency brakingapplies the brakes in situations when the driver does not and it is required to do so, which has helped the Volvo XC60s have about 20{e3c8dc5d155edb2e86ee3dbf1d1c4f06947c8f661b69ca2ecfcd1cdf6baf1180} less collisions in compared to other SUV’s. Self-steering is, of course, where the most focus and interest of the industy and the public is, with plenty of cars already introducing the technology, and which allows the car to make steering corrections at highway speeds to help keep the car’s position in the lane, and even though it has limited functionality nowadays, it will soon be able to take over driving for longer periods in highways. This technology relies on a network of sensors and cameras which are still being developed to its fullest potential.
Cars from past decades would usually not be able to reach the 100,000 miles, had bad brakes and tires and had very few safety features, if any. Apart from the develpments that have happened in the industry that we highlighted above, cars nowadays also include massive airbags, improved seat belts, seats and more. Customers looking for a car should always think about safety when making an investment and give prefference to newer models that can provide you with better safety and crash avoidance features.