the first back-up brake system. should the hydraulic brakes fail, the brake pedal would activate a set of mechanical brakes for the back wheels. in 1937, chrysler, plymouth, desoto, and dodge added such items as a flat, smooth dash with recessed controls, rounded door handles, a windshield wiper control made of rubber, and the back of the front seat heavily padded to provide protection for rear passengers. 1940s in 1942, hugh dehaven published the classic mechanical analysis of survival in falls from heights of fifty to one hundred and fifty feet. in 1947, the american tucker was built with the world's first padded dashboard. it also came with middle headlight that turned with the steering wheel, a front steel bulkhead, and a front safety chamber. in 1949, saab incorporated aircraft safety thinking into automobiles making the saab 92 the first production saab car with a safety cage. also in 1949, the chrysler imperial crown was the first car to come with standard disc brakes. 1950s in 1955, a usaf surgeon who advised the us surgeon general wrote an article on how to make cars safer for those riding in it. aside from the usual safety features, such as seat belts and padded dashboards, bumper shocks were introduced. in 1956, ford tried unsuccessfully to interest americans in purchasing safer cars with their lifeguard safety package. (its attempt nevertheless earns ford motor trend's "car of the year" award for 1956.) in 1958, the united nations established the world forum for harmonization of vehicle regulations, an international standards body advancing auto safety. many of the most life saving safety innovations, like seat belts and roll cage construction were brought to market under its auspices. that same year, volvo engineer nils bohlin invented and patented the three-point lap and shoulder seat belt, which became standard equipment on all volvo cars in 1959. over the next several decades, three-point safety belts were gradually mandated in all vehicles by regulators throughout the industrialised world. in 1959, american motors corporation offered the first optional head rests for the front seat. also in 1959, the cadillac cyclone concept by harley earl had "a radar-based crash-avoidance system" located in the on the nose cones of the vehicle that would make audible and visual signals to the driver if there were obstacles in the vehicle's path. 1960s effective on new passenger cars sold in the united states after january 1, 1964. front outboard lap belts were required. on september 9, 1966, the national traffic and motor vehicle safety act became law in the u.s., the first mandatory federal safety standards for motor vehicles. effective in 1966, us-market passenger cars were required to be equipped with padded instrument panels, front and rear outboard lap belts, and white reverse (backup) lamps. in 1966, the u.s. established the united states department of transportation (dot) with automobile safety as one of its purposes. the national transportation safety board (ntsb) was created as an independent organization on april 1, 1967, but was reliant on the dot for administration and funding. however, in 1975 the organization was made completely independent by the independent safety board act (in p.l. 93-633; 49 u.s.c. 1901). in 1967, equipment specifications by such major fleet purchasers as the city and county of los angeles, california, encouraged the voluntary installation in most new cars sold in the us of safety devices, systems, and design features including: elimination of protruding knobs and controls in passenger compartment additional padding on the instrument panel and other interior surfaces mounting points for front outboard shoulder belts four-way hazard flashers a uniform p-r-n-d-l gear sequence for automatic transmission gear selectors dual-circuit brake hydraulic systems in 1968, the precursor agency to the us national highway traffic safety administration's first federal motor vehicle safety standards took effect. these required shoulder belts for left and right front-seat vehicle occupants, side marker lights, collapsible steering columns, and other safety features. 1969 saw the addition of head restraints for front outboard passengers, addressing the problem of whiplash in rear-end collisions. these safety requirements did not apply to vehicles classified as "commercial," such as light-duty pickup trucks. thus, manufacturers did not always include such hardware in these vehicles, even though many did passenger-car duty. volvo developed the first rear-facing child seat in 1964 and introduced its own booster seat in 1978. consumer information label for a vehicle with at least one us ncap star rating 1970s in 1974, gm offered driver and passenger airbags as optional equipment on large cadillacs, buicks, and oldsmobiles. in 1979, nhtsa began crash-testing popular cars and publishing the results, to inform consumers and encourage manufacturers to improve the safety of their vehicles. initially, the us ncap (new car assessment program) crash tests examined compliance with the occupant-protection provisions of fmvss 208. over the subsequent years, this nhtsa program was gradually expanded in scope. 1980s in 1984, new york state passed the first u.s. law requiring seat belt use in passenger cars. seat belt laws have since been adopted by 49 states (new hampshire has not). nhtsa estimates the resulting increased seat belt use saves 10,000 per year in the united states. in 1986, the central 3rd brake light was mandated in north america with most of the world following with similar standards in automotive lighting. airbags were first installed in production vehicles in the 1980s as standard equipment instead of an option as was done in the mid-1970s (such as the oldsmobile toronado in 1974). in 1981, airbags were an available option on the mercedes-benz w126 (s-class). in 1987, the porsche 944 turbo became the first car to have driver and passenger airbags as standard equipment, and airbags were offered as an available option on the 944 and 944s. the first airbag was also installed in a japanese car, the honda legend, in 1987. in 1988, chrysler was the first united states company to install standard driver's side air bags, in six of its passenger models. in 1989, chrysler became the first u.s. auto manufacturer to install driver-side air bags in all its domestic-built automobiles. 1990s in 1995, the insurance institute for highway safety (iihs) began frontal offset crash tests. also in the same year, volvo introduced the world's first car with side airbags: the 850. in 1996, the european new car assessment programme (euro ncap) was established to test new vehicles' safety performance and publish the results for vehicle shoppers' information. the nhtsa crash tests are presently operated and published as the u.s. branch of the international ncap programme. 2000s in 2000, the nhtsa released a regulation making trunk releases mandatory for new cars by september of the following year due, in part, to the lobbying efforts of janette fennell. in 2003, the iihs began conducting side impact crash tests. in 2004, nhtsa released new tests designed to test the rollover risk of new cars and suvs. only the mazda rx-8 got a 5-star rating. in 2009, citroën became the first manufacturer to feature "snowmotion", an intelligent anti skid system developed in conjunction with bosch, which gives drivers a level of control in extreme ice or snow conditions similar to a 4x4. in 2009, nhtsa upgraded its roof-crush standard for vehicles weighing 6000 pounds or less. the new standard increased the crush load requirement from 1.5 to 3 times the vehicle's curb weight. 2010s from 2011, new cars should have brake assist system in the eu, according to the pedestrian protection regulation (ec) 78/2009. starting in 2012, all cars under 10,000 lbs. sold in the us are required to have electronic stability control. in 2014, esp (electronic stability program) and tpms became mandatory in the european union, with also the driver seat belt reminder and the isofix system, under general safety regulation (ec) no 661/2009. in 2015, recognizing that safer roads are a shared responsibility, together for safer roads (tsr) was formally launched to align the private sector's road safety efforts with the united nations decade of action for road safety. in 2016 and 2017, abs became mandatory on motorcycles in the eu. in 2018, ecall became mandatory in the eu, and reverse camera in the us. in 2019, the eu legislated to revise the general safety regulation (gsr), the revision includes the following automotive safety features: intelligent speed assistance (isa) drowsiness alerts (ddr-aw) distraction alerts event data recorders (edr) advanced emergency braking alcohol interlock installation facilitation (alc) tire-pressure monitoring system (tpms) emergency stop signals (ess) lane departure warning systems reversing detection (rev) safety-belt warning systems covering all the seats in a vehicle vehicle master control switches driver availability monitoring systems in addition, a number of regulatory changes have been made in the update to the gsr in relation to vehicle design, in which the following have been mandated: enlargement of head impact zones. reduction of blind spots for buses, vans and hgvs. improved easy access, for people with low levels of mobility, on buses which have a capacity over 22 persons, and which allow standing. regulation in relation to frontal protection systems. previously vans, suvs and mpvs were exempted from regulations pertaining to height and vehicle characteristics, these exemptions have been revised. safety trends in the us, about 34,000 people were killed by traffic crashes every year from 2015 to 2020. sharp rises in the price of fuel and related driver behavioural changes reduced 2007-8 highway fatalities in the us to below the 1961 fatality count. litigation played a large part in mandating safer cars. safety is a significant concern in the european union (eu 28) with 25,249 fatalities and around 130,000 serious injuries in 2018 and 2017 respectively. overall, between 2001 and 2018 there was an almost 50% reduction in road deaths in the eu from 55,092 in 2001 to the 2018 figure of 25,249. in 2018 the eu average road death rate was 49 people per million inhabitants. also in 2018 romania had the worst figures in this regard with 96 people out of a million inhabitants dying on the roads, belgium had the median score standing at 52 deaths per million, and the uk scored the best with 28 people out of every million dying on its roads. international comparison in 1996, the us had about 2 deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles, compared to 1.9 in germany, 2.6 in france, and 1.5 in the uk. in 1998, there were 3,421 fatal crashes in the uk, the fewest since 1926; in 2010 this number was further reduced to 1,857 and was attributed to the 2009–2010 scrappage scheme. the sizable traffic safety lead enjoyed by the us since the 1960s had narrowed significantly by 2002, with the us improvement percentages lagging in 16th place behind those of australia, austria, canada, denmark, finland, germany, united kingdom, iceland, japan, luxembourg, the netherlands, new zealand, norway, sweden, and switzerland in terms of deaths per thousand vehicles, while in terms of deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled, the us had dropped from first place to tenth place. us specificities transportation safety in the united states is monitored by various agencies. government-collected data, such as that from the us fatality analysis reporting system, show other countries achieving safety performance improvements over time greater than those achieved in the us: 1979 fatalities2002 fatalitiespercent change united states51,09342,815-16.2% united kingdom6,3523,431-46.0% canada5,8632,936-49.9% australia3,5081,715-51.1% data from table above showing data from the us fatality analysis reporting system research on the trends in use of heavy vehicles indicate that a significant difference between the us and other countries is the relatively high prevalence of pickup trucks and suvs in the us. a 2003 study by the us transportation research board found that suvs and pickup trucks are significantly less safe than passenger cars, that non-us branded vehicles tend to be safer than us branded vehicles, and that the size and weight of a vehicle has a significantly smaller effect on safety than the quality of the vehicle's engineering. in the us, the level of large commercial truck traffic has substantially increased since the 1960s, while highway capacity has not kept pace with the increase in large commercial truck traffic on us highways. however, other factors exert significant influence; canada has lower roadway death and injury rates despite a vehicle mix comparable to that of the us. nevertheless, the widespread use of truck-based vehicles as passenger carriers is correlated with roadway deaths and injuries