Wheels
A Glimpse Into the History of Car Safety
A timeline of progress in car safety gadgets. Read out to know about people who invented these safety gadgets...
In 1886, Carl Benz patented the world's first gas-powered vehicle. Since then, approximately 1.35 million people have perished in road accidents annually. The earliest cars were slow and prone to tipping over--attributes which made them quite dangerous. However, these hazard features also presented engineers with an opportunity to improve car safety by making small tweaks and inventions along the way. Let's explore how car safety has evolved throughout the years.
With the Passage of Time
- Mary Anderson realized in 1903 that it was inefficient for drivers to get out of their cars every time they wanted to clear the snow off, so she patented the design for hand-operated wiper blades. In 1921, Benjamin Katz invented headrests to whiplash injuries. Frederick Duesenberg popularized hydraulic brakes around this same period; they required much less force than manual brakes.
- First introduced in 1927, safety glass was less likely to shatter on impact. This prevented injuries from broken windshields and also helped reduce car thefts. In 1947, padded dashboards were added to further prevent chest or face injuries caused by accidents. The first car to have a padded dashboard was the Tucker.
In the 1950s, technology began to evolve at an unprecedented rate, including in the area of car safety. As cars became faster and easier to drive, new risks emerged.
- In 1951, Walter Linder created the first airbag. The driver could release it or, if the car was in an accident and hit a bumper, the airbag would automatically deploy.
- Three years later, Nils Bohlin invented the three-point seatbelt, which goes over your shoulder, chest and lap. It's still one of the most important car safety inventions today.
- From 1966 to 1968, carmakers had to includefront seatbelts, back lap belts, white reverse lights and padded dashboards as standard. The anti-lock braking system was introduced on a Jensen FF for the first time; this prevents the car from steering out of control on slippery roads.
- Australia was the first country to make seatbelts mandatory in 1970, and they also introduced a rear-wheel anti-lock braking system. In 1979, America's highway traffic administration started crash testing newly released cars to evaluate how effective recent safety improvements were. The findings were published for public awareness. Mercedes Benz became the first company to release a driver's seat supplemental restraint system airbag in 1981.
The year 2000 meant the start of a new era and millennium. By this time, many technological advancements had been made, one being road safety improvements.
- In America, around 500,000 truck-related accidents happen each year. To help combat this issue, a lane departure warning system was developed in 2000 that would notify truck drivers if they stray from their lane.
- Then in 2004, Volvo introduced the blind spot information system to avoid accidents while parallel parking or similar maneuvers.
- Most recently in 2008, Volvo unveiled automatic emergency brakes that will automatically apply the brakes when sensing a pedestrian or oncoming car.
- In 2009, Citroen and Bosch created an anti-skid system called snow motion. This was to help drivers when they were driving on slippery roads that had been freshly coated in snow, ice, or water.
Technology has come so far that now you don't even need to drive. You can just put your car in a location and it will take you where you need to go. This is a true testament of how much humanity has progressed.
