The improvements to car safety are too many to name. Car safety has advanced to the point of certain cars being close to injury proof. If you check out the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety you’ll realize that the amount of cars certified as a ‘Gold’ safety pick in 2006 are substantially less than the amount certified as a ‘Gold’ safety pick in 2015, meaning auto safety technology is continuing to evolve. The history of auto safety is extensive, and has become one of the primary concerns of automakers in the 21st century.
Read on to discover how auto safety technology has evolved over the years.
If You Become a Mechanic You Can Thank Ford for Seatbelts
The first chief executive of Ford who wasn’t from the Ford family was Robert McNamara, who later went on to serve as Secretary of Defence for former president John F. Kennedy. McNamara introduced the Ford Falcon to the world, which had seatbelts and a ‘deep dished’ steering column that reduced the chances of injury in crashes by allowing the steering wheel to absorb impact more effectively. He also introduced padded instrument panels to reduce impact and better door locks for automobiles. If you become a mechanic and see cars after crashes which have led to minimal injury due to seatbelts or extra padding, both you and the driver can thank McNamara. Seatbelts are said to save up to 1,000 lives per year in Canada alone!
When You Become a Mechanic You Can Thank Mercedes-Benz for Airbags!
Only recently installed in production cars, the airbag was first used in a production model automobile by Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz unveiled the airbag in its W 126-series S-Class Saloon at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show. The airbag became an option in every single Mercedes-Benz car the next year, which was followed by the airbag becoming standard equipment in all Mercedes-Benz models by 1994. In 1995 the side airbag, which usually deploys from the side of a seat in the event of a crash, was also made available as an option on Mercedes vehicles.
The Future Looks Bright for Auto Safety: What You Might See When You Become a Mechanic
When you become an auto mechanic in Montreal, chances are you’ll see far less Volvos come in for repairs in the near future. That’s because Volvo has just pledged that by the year 2020 car safety at Volvo will have evolved to the point that nobody will die or be seriously injured in a Volvo. That’s quite the statement, but easy to believe when you realize that from 2009 to 2012, nobody in the world died while driving a Volvo XC90. Part of this pledge to limit vehicle injuries stems from autonomous driving systems that will be in place by 2020. Autonomous driving, meaning cars that drive themselves, will be readily available and are reported to be safer than human drivers, potentially leading to far less accidents.
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