automotive safety automotive safety automotive safety is the study and practice of an astronomy design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design. crash testing is one of the components of automotive safety. one of the first formal academic studies into improving motor vehicle safety was by cornell aeronautical laboratory of buffalo, new york. the main conclusion of their extensive report is the crucial importance of seat belts and padded dashboards. however, the primary vector of traffic-related deaths and injuries is the disproportionate mass and velocity of an automobile compared to that of the predominant victim, the pedestrian. according to the world health organization (who), 80% of cars sold in the world are not compliant with main safety standards. only 40 countries have adopted the full set of the seven most important regulations for car safety. in the united states, a pedestrian is injured by a motor vehicle every 8 minutes, and are 1.5 times more likely than a vehicle's occupants to be killed in a motor vehicle crash per outing. improvements in roadway and motor vehicle designs have steadily reduced injury and death rates in all first world countries. nevertheless, auto collisions are the leading cause of injury-related deaths, an estimated total of 1.2 million in 2004, or 25% of the total from all causes. of those killed by autos, nearly two-thirds are pedestrians. risk compensation theory has been used in arguments against safety devices, regulations and modifications of vehicles despite the efficacy of saving lives. coalitions to promote road and automotive safety, such as together for safer roads (tsr), brings together global private sector companies, across industries, to collaborate on improving road safety. tsr brings together members' knowledge, data, technology, and global networks to focus on five road safety areas that will make impact globally and within local communities. the rising trend of autonomous things is largely driven by the move towards the autonomous car, that both addresses the main existing safety issues and creates new issues. the autonomous car is expected to be safer than existing vehicles, by eliminating the single most dangerous element - the driver. the center for internet and society at stanford law school claims that "some ninety percent of motor vehicle crashes are caused at least in part by human error". but while safety standards like the iso 26262 specify the required safety, it is still a burden on the industry to demonstrate acceptable safety. occupational driving work-related roadway crashes are the leading cause of death from traumatic injuries in the u.s. workplace. they accounted for nearly 12,000 deaths between 1992 and 2000. deaths and injuries from these roadway crashes result in increased costs to employers and lost productivity in addition to their toll in human suffering. truck drivers tend to endure higher fatality rates than workers in other occupations, but concerns about motor vehicle safety in the workplace are not limited to those surrounding the operation of large trucks. workers outside the motor carrier industry routinely operate company-owned vehicles for deliveries, sales and repair calls, client visits, etc. in these instances, the employer providing the vehicle generally plays a major role in setting safety, maintenance, and training policy. as in non-occupational driving, young drivers are especially at risk. in the workplace, 45% of all fatal injuries to workers under age 18 between 1992 and 2000 in the united states resulted from transportation incidents. active and passive safety the terms "active" and "passive" are simple but important terms in the world of automotive safety. "active safety" is used to refer to technology assisting in the prevention of a crash and "passive safety" to components of the vehicle (primarily airbags, seatbelts and the physical structure of the vehicle) that help to protect occupants during a crash. crash avoidance crash avoidance systems and devices help the driver — and, increasingly, help the vehicle itself — to avoid a collision. this category includes: the vehicle's headlamps, reflectors, and other lights and signals the vehicle's mirrors the vehicle's brakes, steering, and suspension systems driver assistance a subset of crash avoidance is driver assistance systems, which help the driver to detect obstacles and to control the vehicle. driver assistance systems include: driver alertness detection system (dads) to help prevent crashes caused by fatigue, lack of alertness, or distractions automatic braking systems to prevent or reduce the severity of collision. infrared night vision systems to increase seeing distance beyond headlamp range adaptive headlamps control the direction and range of the headlight beams to light the driver's way through curves and maximize seeing distance without partially blinding other drivers reverse backup sensors, which alert drivers to difficult-to-see objects in their path when reversing backup camera adaptive cruise control which maintains a safe distance from the vehicle in front lane departure warning systems to alert the driver of an unintended departure from the intended lane of travel tire pressure monitoring systems or deflation detection systems traction control systems which restore traction if driven wheels begin to spin electronic stability control, which intervenes to avert an impending loss of control anti-lock braking systems electronic brakeforce distribution systems emergency brake assist systems cornering brake control systems assured clear distance ahead measurement and speed governance systems precrash system automated parking system obstacle detection sensor systems notify a driver how close their vehicle is to an object - usually providing a distance measurement, to the inch, as to how close they are. crashworthiness passive safety devices being put to the test in a mazda cx-5 crossover. ferrari f430 steering wheel with airbag crashworthy systems and devices prevent or reduce the severity of injuries when a crash is imminent or actually happening. much research is carried out using anthropomorphic crash test dummies. seatbelts limit the forward motion of an occupant, stretch to absorb energy, to lengthen the time of the occupant's negative acceleration in a crash, reducing the loading on the occupants' body. they prevent occupants being ejected from the vehicle and ensure that they are in the correct position for the operation of the airbags. airbags inflate to cushion the impact of a vehicle occupant with various parts of the vehicle's interior. the most important being the prevention of direct impact of the driver's head with the steering wheel and door pillar. laminated windshields remain in one piece when impacted, preventing penetration of unbelted occupants' heads and maintaining a minimal but adequate transparency for control of the car immediately following a collision. it is also a bonded structural part of the safety cell. tempered glass side and rear windows break into granules with minimally sharp edges, rather than splintering into jagged fragments as ordinary glass does. crumple zones absorb and dissipate the force of a collision, displacing and diverting it away from the passenger compartment and reducing the negative acceleration impact force on the vehicle occupants. vehicles will include a front, rear and maybe side crumple zones (like volvo sips) too. safety cell—the passenger compartment is reinforced with high strength materials, at places subject to high loads in a crash, in order to maintain a survival space for the vehicle occupants. footwell intrusion is one recognized failure mode of the safety cell, and anti-intrusion bars are one component addressing protection in side impacts. collapsible universally jointed steering columns, along with steering wheel airbag. the steering system is mounted behind the front axle - behind and protected by, the front crumple zone. this reduces the risk and severity of driver impact or even impalement on the column in a frontal crash. pedestrian protection systems. padding of the instrument panel and other interior parts, on the vehicle in areas likely to be struck by the occupants during a crash, and the careful placement of mounting brackets away from those areas. cargo barriers are sometimes fitted to provide a physical barrier between passenger and cargo compartments in vehicles such as suvs, station wagons and vans. these help prevent injuries caused by occupants being struck by unsecured cargo. they can also help prevent collapse of the roof in the event of a vehicle rollover. post-crash survivability post-crash survivability is the chance that drivers and passengers survive a crash after it occurs. technology such as advanced automatic collision notification can automatically place calls to emergency services and send information about a vehicle collision. pedestrian safety 1974 mini clubman experimental safety vehicle featuring a "pedestrian-friendly" front end. cars are much more dangerous to pedestrians than they are to drivers and passengers. two-thirds of 1.3 million yearly auto related deaths are pedestrians. since at least the early 1970s, attention has also been given to vehicle design regarding the safety of pedestrians in car-pedestrian collisions. proposals in europe would require cars sold there to have a minimum/maximum hood (bonnet) height. from 2006, the use of "bull bars", a fashion on 4x4s and suvs, became illegal in the european union, after having been banned on all new cars in 2002. lights and reflectors vehicles are equipped with a variety of lights and reflectors to mark their presence, position, width, length, and direction of travel as well as to convey the driver's intent and actions to other drivers. these include the vehicle's headlamps, front and rear position lamps, side marker lights and reflectors, turn signals, stop (brake) lamps, and reversing lamps. school buses and semi-trailer trucks in north america are required to bear retroreflective strips outlining their side and rear perimeters for greater conspicuity at night. daytime running lamps have been required in the nordic countries since the mid-1970s, in canada since 1990, and throughout the european union since 7 february 2011. vehicle colour a 2004 essay on the relation between car colour and safety stated that no previous studies had been scientifically conclusive. since then, a swedish study found that pink cars are involved in the fewest and black cars are involved in the most crashes (land transport nz 2005). in auckland new zealand, a study found that there was a significantly lower rate of serious injury in silver cars, with higher rates in brown, black, and green cars. the vehicle colour study, conducted by monash university accident research centre (muarc) and published in 2007, analysed 855,258 crashes that occurring between 1987 and 2004 in the australian states of victoria and western australia that resulted in injury or in a vehicle being towed away. the study analysed risk by light condition. it found that in daylight, black cars were 12% more likely than white to be involved in a collision, followed by grey cars at 11%, silver cars at 10%, and red and blue cars at 7%, with no other colours found to be significantly more or less risky than white. at dawn or dusk, the risk ratio for black cars jumped to 47% more likely than white, and that for silver cars to 15%. in the hours of darkness, only red and silver cars were found to be significantly more risky than white, by 10% and 8% respectively. unused safety features many different inventions and ideas which may or may not have been practical about auto safety have been put forward but never made it to a production car. such items include the driver seat in the middle (to give the person a better view) (the exception being the mclaren f1 super car) and control stick steering. history 18th century–19th century automotive safety may have become an issue almost from the beginning of mechanised road vehicle development. the second steam-powered "fardier" (artillery tractor), created by nicolas-joseph cugnot in 1771, is reported by some to have crashed into a wall during its demonstration run. however, according to georges ageon, the earliest mention of this occurrence dates from 1801 and it does not feature in contemporary accounts. one of the earliest recorded car-related fatalities was mary ward, on august 31, 1869, in parsonstown, ireland. 1920s in 1922, the duesenburg model a became the first car to have four-wheel hydraulic brakes. 1930s in 1930, safety glass became standard on all ford cars. in the 1930s, plastic surgeon claire l. straith and physician c. j. strickland advocated the use of seat belts and padded dashboards. strickland founded the automobile safety league of america. in 1934, gm performed the first barrier crash test. in 1936, the hudson terraplane came with