Car Safety Features to Reduce Car Accidents | Valley Collision UT (2024)

FAQs

How do car safety features reduce collision forces? ›

Crumple Zones: Absorbing the Shock

Crumple zones are areas of a vehicle that are designed to deform and crumple in a controlled manner during a collision. The primary purpose of these zones is to absorb and dissipate the energy from the impact, reducing the force transmitted to the occupants.

That is why car manufacturers have developed several safety features, such as seat belts, airbags, padded dashboards, and crumple zones to protect any riders who may be involved in an accident. Seat belts and airbags are important devices as they are designed to slow the body down more gradually.

Anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, and collision avoidance systems: These vehicle safety features help you prevent collisions. They say safety first, but when it comes to driving, safety is second and third, too.

But do cars with advanced safety systems really make everything safer? Most studies suggest they do. For example, the crash involvement rate for vehicles with blind-spot monitoring was 14% lower than the same models without the equipment, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Depending on the situation, you can do one of these 3 things to prevent a collision: stop, steer away or speed up. Read the Collision Avoidance section to learn about the circ*mstances, when you can apply one or another technique and their advantages and disadvantages.

As Newton's second law explains, this delay reduces the force that drivers and passengers feel in a crash. By reducing the force of impact, we reduce the potential damage to those riding in the car. Crumple zones, combined with properly fastened seatbelts and airbags, result in more lives saved each and every day.

When it comes to vehicle safety features, airbags are probably the most well-known. Airbags have been around since the early 1970s and have been proven to reduce car accident-related deaths by 34%. And with a seatbelt, this power duo reduces car accident-related deaths by 61%.

Various technologies and sensors that are used include radar (all-weather) and sometimes laser (LIDAR) and cameras (employing image recognition) to detect an imminent crash. GPS sensors can detect fixed dangers such as approaching stop signs through a location database.

What feature helps reduce the severity of a collision impact? ›

Airbags. Airbags, which inflate when an electronic sensor signals that there has been a collision, can cushion the impact and prevent serious injury, even stopping the driver or passenger from making contact with the windshield or steering wheel.

The headrest is the best safety feature for preventing whiplash because it directly supports the head. One should always have their head above the headrest to prevent whiplash. The main function of the airbag is to inflate quickly in case of an emergency such as a crash.

Along with crumple zones, other modern design factors and improvements have helped to make cars safer. Seat belts, air bags, head restraints and interior features redesigned to be more flexible, cushioned and rounded all help to minimize injuries and protect drivers and passengers in a crash.

Air bags and seat belts work together to protect older children and adults seated in the front seat of a vehicle. The seat belt keeps the occupant correctly positioned and the air bag adds extra protection for the head and chest and allows the occupant to ride down the crash.

In physics, the impact force during a collision can be reduced by altering the speed or direction of an object. This principle is applied in various safety features of vehicles, like airbags and crumple zones, which effectively slow down the impact time, reducing the force experienced by the passengers.

The Crumple Zone – How Physics Saves Lives

In a crash, crumple zones help transfer some of the car's kinetic energy into controlled deformation, or crumpling, at impact. This may create more vehicle damage, but the severity of personal injury likely will be reduced.

Minimizing Impact Force

If you jump to the ground from any height, you bend your knees upon impact, extending the time of collision and lessening the impact force. A boxer moves away from a punch, extending the time of impact and lessening the force.