Explore the comprehensive guide on traffic accidents, delving into the evolving landscape of car safety measures to keep car safe. From preventive strategies enhancing driver awareness to cutting-edge collision safety technologies, discover how automobile manufacturers prioritize occupant protection and accident prevention.
What is a traffic accident?
Traffic accident is a serious social problem. Today, the performance of cars has improved dramatically; accidents are rarely caused by the cars themselves.
Automobiles are developed day to day so that we can travel safely. Even if the driving skill of the driver is immature, the performance of the car covers it, so it seems that the driver often forgets his driving skills, and accidents often occur by the driver.
More than 90% of the cause of death in the car due to a traffic accident is due to upper body damage such as head, chest, and abdomen. In recent years, there have been strong demands to develop new devices for automobile safety.
Concept of car safe manufacture
Automobile manufacturers are fully aware of the importance of safe driving, accident prevention, accident avoidance, and occupant protection.
Therefore, we consider cars equipped with both “preventive safety” to prevent accidents beforehand and “collision safety” to protect passengers at the time of collision are overall safe vehicles. And they are making cars based on that.
Preventive safety and collision safety
What is preventive safety?
it is necessary to first devise a way to prevent the driver from accidents. To prevent accidents, the driver must perform the cycle of “recognition”, “judgment”, and “operation” quickly and accurately It is important to improve the basic performance of the car, reduce fatigue of the driver, etc. In the car, various measures are taken so that the driver can do this cycle quickly and accurately.
What is collision safety?
in case of collision, it is necessary to devise to protect the passenger. To ensure the safety of the passenger “How much can do minimize the occurrence of secondary collisions due to movement of passenger in the passenger compartment when colliding” is the most important point.
For that reason, various devices are being devised for automobiles, including a body structure that absorbs shocks. Let’s take a look at representative ones in a way to ensure safety.
How to prevent car accidents and improve car safety
Preventive safety Devices
How to increase driver visibility
The visibility when driving is not always the same, such as at night or in the rain. In any situation, to secure better visibility, the following ingenuity is mainly done.
· Improvement of the headlamp. Improvement of luminous intensity of lamp itself and improvement of light distribution pattern
· Attaching a cornering lamp to light the turning direction in conjunction with the turn signal lamp
· Installation of fog lamps to be used when fog occurs
· Expansion of front wiper wiping range and attachment of rear wiper
· Removing water droplets attached to the door mirrors by ultrasonic vibration and the heater
· Removal of rear window clouds by hot wire Installation of rear window defogger
· Install clearance sonar to notify the driver of the distance between the car and the obstacle
Adjustability of driving space for Comfort and Reduced Fatigue
We can adjust the height of the steering wheel and the distance to the steering wheel, or arrange meters, switches, pedals, etc. based on ergonomics, even if the driver does not forcibly move the body, you can operate them.
Also, ingenuity has been devised to reduce driver fatigue.
They are sheets that do not get tired even for long hours of driving and auto air conditioners that automatically adjust room temperature.
Improve car basic performance and emergency avoidance dynamic performance
Various devices have been developed and installed to further improve the basic performance of the car such as “running”, “turning”, “and stopping”, and safe operation in an emergency.
Improvements in Running Performance
A 4-wheel drive (4 WD) to ensure stable running on slippery roads due to rain, snow freeze, etc. TRC (traction control) and VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) optimally control the driving force according to the road surface condition.
what is traction control in a car (TRC)?
When traveling on a slippery road due to rain, snow cover, freezing, etc., if the engine speed increases too much, the tire may run idle and the vehicle may become unstable, which is extremely dangerous.
Traction control is a system that adjusts the output of the engine by the computer when the tire idles so prevents the tire from idling.
Improve car Turning and stopping performance
Suspension systems (TEMS, AVS (Adaptive Variable Suspension System), electronically controlled air suspension, active suspension that automatically controls the inclination of the car as it turns the curve more smoothly.
A four-wheel ABS (anti-lock brake system) that prevents the wheels from locking when braking on a sudden braking or slippery road surface, and ensures vehicle stability and steering control during braking.
Collision safety
Car Structural Enhancements for Passenger Safety
Utilizing Crushable Body Structures
The impact at the time of a collision is absorbed by deforming the front part and the rear part of the body, thereby securing a passenger space and lightening the impact on the passenger.
Strengthening Side Door Beams
There is only a door that supports the shock from the side of the car. If the strength of the door is weak, the door will be crushed at the time of a collision, which is extremely dangerous. Therefore, we installed a powerful steel pipe inside the door to prevent deformation of the door due to side impact.
Passenger Protection Systems
Comfortable and Advanced Safe Seat Belt Technologies
ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) seat belt
It is a seat belt equipped with a device to prevent the seat belt from being sent out in case of emergency.
During driving, when sudden braking and other forces are applied to decelerate the car, the hoist of the seat belt locks and locks the belt.
Usually, since the belt goes in and out according to the movement of the body, it reduces the feeling of pressure when the seat belt is used.
· Adjustable shoulder belt anchor
It is possible to adjust the belt to the optimum position according to the physique of the passenger by raising and lowering the shoulder anchor of the front seat belt.
· Seat belt with electric tension reducer
It is a seat belt that can reduce the feeling of pressure when wearing. When you attach the seat belt, the sensor in the buckle detects the user state, automatically weakening the tension of the belt.
Shock Absorption Mechanisms in Steering
· Collapsible steering
When receiving a shock from the steering wheel at the time of a collision, the entire steering column moves forward, bending the shock absorbing bracket (bending bracket), absorbing the shock, and lightening the shock to the driver.
· Shock-absorbing pad
When a neck is formed in the central part of the steel plate part and an impact is applied to the pad part, the constriction of the steel plate part is deformed
It absorbs the shock and lightens the shock to the driver.
Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS) Airbags
It is a device that supplements seat belt passenger protection. It operates at the time of a collision from the front and the airbag instantaneously
It prevents the driver’s face and head from directly hitting the steering wheel.
