Car Safety | Teen Ink

Car Safety

April 28, 2017
By Carsafety BRONZE, Houston, Texas
Carsafety BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 14 comments

Drivers should not be losing their life due to a defect on a vehicle reminding us that the need for collision prevention technology is needed. It's not just that, it is also how the drivers test is really  effortless so citizens really don't have to study they just have to go take the test. So if the test became tougher it would drop the accident rates significantly.
    

Before we go into the known technology lets go back a little to the history of car safety to see where these ideas came from. To start, the first recorded automobile accident was on August 31, 1869 in a small town in Ireland where Mary Ward lost her life. The four- wheel hydraulic brake system was introduced in 1922 in a Duescriburg model A, was considered as the first footstep in the history of car safety. Also, a safety glass became seen on all ford vehicles. In the same year( a plastic surgeon) named Claire Straight and C.J. Strickland a physician, proposed the use of seat belts and padded dashboards. General Motors performed the first barrier crash test in 1934. A backup brake system was invented by Hudson Terraplane in 1936. American tucker had the first world's padded dashboard in 1947 which also included a middle headlight that turned with the wheel. In 1949 Chrysler crown became the first automobile to be equipped with standard disc brakes. The UN is also a part of the history of car safety which established the world forum for harmonization of vehicle regulations in 1958. In 1958 a Volvo engineer invented a three-point lap and shoulder belt became standard on all Volvo cars in 1959. The first optional headrests for the front seat came into existence in 1959. In 1966 the U.S. established (DOT) The Department Of Transportation. The National Transportation Safety Board was created in 1967 later known as The National Highway Traffic Safety (NHTSA). In 1979 the NHTSA began crash testing popular vehicles. A law requiring seat belts in passenger cars was passed in 1984 in New York. Frontal offset crash tests started in 1995 while in 2003. In 2009 NHTSA increased its standards for roof crush vehicles weighing 1000 pounds or smaller.
    

Let’s move on to the type of test impacts scientists do at their test facilities. The first one is frontal impacts, a test taken against a concrete wall at precise speed but SUV’s are usually singled out their are a lot of families that use them daily. An offset test requires only a portion of the vehicle to go to the side of the concrete wall, these offset tests are important because it stimulates humans reactions to a crashed vehicle. The next one is side impacts are very important because usually, it has a high fatality rate. It usually happens because cars don't have a crumple zone( it is on the front of all cars,  just to protect the front of the car to be smashed in) on the side of the vehicle. The last one is the rollover impact test, the rollover test verifies the car's  ability to support itself especially the pillars of the car the test assures the scientists that the car is ready for passengers also to assure light poles do not affect the roof to protect occupants. These tests are important because it helps to make cars safer for the later future but right now there is technology to help with that information.

     

 Technology is one of the leading accident avoidance items. There are a lot of known ones like the backup camera but there are others that people haven’t heard of yet. So to start, automatic parking systems help with squeezing into spots which may be very nerve racking, from cars passing or the fear of bumping into other parked vehicles. For that reason the driver only has to drive up to the parking spot and the car uses lasers and radars to park itself. This next one is called Adaptive cruise control uses radar to detect traffic patterns. The driver can also set parameters from the distance of the front vehicle. Another avoidance technology is  forward collision prevention, it helps by detecting the object or vehicle ahead to slow or stop before it happens. Now lane monitoring helps to detect if you're drifting by using the road markings. It will flash a light, vibrate or make a sound, whereas the more advanced systems intervene with steering and braking systems. Furthermore  is blind-spot monitoring, this feature senses cars in your blind spot by an audible or visual alert, often a ring of light on the side mirror, some even show footage on the dashboard . Additionally is the backup camera, this is becoming standard on all vehicles in 2018, this technology shows a footage of what's behind your vehicle when you reverse, and it usually shows on the dashboard of the vehicle. Finally is the alertness monitoring, automakers are making it so the car detects when you become tired or fall asleep by seeing if you’re drifting or sudden deceleration when this happens a warning signal and a visual alert. These technology usually only prevent 40% of all crashes, well what about the other 60% which are caused by citizens not following the laws and not abiding to what they learned on the driver’s test.

       

On the fact of the driver's test if the test were harder that it would drop the accident rates by a milestone just if they put the effort in making it harder and that is just in Texas. The Texas test is different than others because the tests are based on laws and location. There is a state of Texas DMV permit test were teenagers at the age of fifteen can take a test to see if they can drive. It is a great idea because if you get tested while young you won't forget it and the accident rate will drop significantly. This next one is the state of texas DMV license test and this one is for adults only, they can take the test to get their license.
       

 As you read about the history, the test impacts, the technology, the drivers test this is all in this topic of car safety and how the technology affects the accident rates. After this, it is in belief that it isn’t the crash avoidance technology it is about the drivers test and how effortless it may be . Plus if I can take the test and pass then that's how you know that the test is too easy.



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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 16 comments.


on May. 17 2017 at 3:10 pm
LordWich BRONZE, Houston, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Humans try to, but don't really learn their mistakes until a few decades past by.

on May. 17 2017 at 1:50 pm
RawanAljaouni BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 8 comments
Do you think that online driving schools and tests should be allowed? During online tests, people can look up answers, then when they're on the road, suddenly they don't know what to do. Do you think that adds on to accident rates?

ThuNguyen said...
on May. 17 2017 at 1:49 pm
ThuNguyen, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 11 comments
I agree with you. It could cause less car accidents.

jxordan BRONZE said...
on May. 17 2017 at 1:44 pm
jxordan BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 12 comments
I think it's quite scary how now we have cars that drive themselves too. Now i'm not saying they could one day be really safe, but we should just start making the people out there better drivers. Reckless driving shouldn't be tolerated.

Xdragon said...
on May. 17 2017 at 1:44 pm
Xdragon,
0 articles 0 photos 13 comments
I feel like in order to reduce vehicular accidents, we should do the following. One, yes, make the driving tests harder. Two, add more safety features to the car. Lastly, there's need to be some rules on safety such as: don't use your phone, keep eyes on the road, etc. I know these are already rules, but I feel like they should be made into laws.

StyLish said...
on May. 17 2017 at 1:40 pm
StyLish,
0 articles 0 photos 10 comments
It will be hard to renew the driver's test. People don't like sudden changes in the government. Making the test harder might impact the accident rates but what about the drivers that already have their license?

on May. 17 2017 at 1:32 pm
1LonelyRose BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 16 comments
I agree. If the old test is shot, then a whole new mess of problems are created

on May. 17 2017 at 1:27 pm
Oswaldo_Ponce BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 11 comments
While taking the test, some people just seem to be paying attention. While other drivers actually remember what they learned and do it correctly. And then there are drivers that just don't care about other drivers. With all of this new technology, it is making it safer for drivers but this should be a standard on all cars and should be required and tested yearly by the car manufacturies.

on May. 17 2017 at 12:20 pm
PeterCao BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 14 comments
A harder drivers test can keep bad or reckless drivers from driving,but what about the drivers that already have previously gotten a license/renewed their license with the old test?

on May. 17 2017 at 10:35 am
CharltonBibbII,
0 articles 0 photos 10 comments
I totally agree with the idea that drivers test need to improve because I passed a test and I have ZERO driving experience which shows that it needs to be upgraded.

on May. 17 2017 at 10:25 am
KimberlyNgo BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 14 comments
Yes, some people still struggle with driving knowledge, even after a test they passed. To help save more lives, build a better car structure, decrease phone usage, and increase driving practice for the test.

nango said...
on May. 17 2017 at 10:17 am
nango, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 15 comments
I agree about how you said that the drivers test needs to be more of a challenge because it would help to save more lives and the death rate would decrease.

Sugars said...
on May. 17 2017 at 10:07 am
Sugars, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 14 comments
I agree with you about the accident rates and how they should be prevented from increasing. I also agree with Lan about making the drivers test harder, that's not the only solution to why accident rates has been rising.

lynnsnguyen said...
on May. 17 2017 at 10:06 am
lynnsnguyen, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments
Technology has come a long way and we have developed from the past. Many people in the world are trying to make driving safer for the population; technology also is the very thing that harms us. I would have to agree since we are changing I think the driver's test should change over time as well.

ASLanguage said...
on May. 17 2017 at 10:05 am
ASLanguage, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 15 comments
Interesting article! Many people are so engaged on their devices nowadays that they don't have enough focus on the road! Technology has began to thrive, creating many cars and not much safety insurance. I agree with your main points in your article.

LanTo BRONZE said...
on May. 17 2017 at 10:01 am
LanTo BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 14 comments
I agree with you. Car safety has come a long way and not many people actually care about how important the driving tests are. Technology has become so involved with cars nowadays that the idea of car safety is more modernized every single day. Thus, I agree with your solution (but making driving tests harder is not the only solution).