Ayman Amin

Physics

Mr Bradford

Car safety - How cars and roads are designed to make them safer
Car safety features:
Modern car manufacturers are becoming increasingly vigilant in regards towards car safety; various safety features are in place to protect both occupants in a vehicle and pedestrians. There are constantly updated regulations regarding safety in cars which manufacturers have to abide by, furthermore as consumers are also becoming more aware of the safety issues with a car they will feel discouraged from a buying a car with a lower safety rating. There is also competition between car firms in regards to safety, as each cars are rated using a star system cars with a better rating can use their cars safety credentials to entice customers. As moving cars have kinetic energy to stop the car their kinetic energy needs to be converted or transferred. One way of doing this is by using the brakes which convert the cars kinetic energy mainly into heat energy.

How cars are designed to keep its occupants safe Newer cars are fitted with ABS (anti-lock braking system) which will prevent the car from skidding allowing the driver to remain in control which can help to avoid an accident. A further way cars are designed to avoid collisions is with a traction control system (TCS) otherwise known as Anti-slip regulation (ASR), this helps to prevent the tires from slipping whilst accelerating or driving on slippery surfaces. It does this by electronically limiting the amount of power to the wheels thus preventing wheel spin which can be potentially lifesaving as it is sometimes safer to accelerate out of an accident rather than to brake. 4x4s are often considered to be safer for its occupants however due to their high centre of gravity they can be prone to rolling over, to combat this most modern 4x4s are fitted with an Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) which will sense if a car will roll over. It corrects this by electronically executing the necessary operations to bring the car back into control. Lately cars such as the Volvo XC90 are being fitted with Automatic braking systems, this senses collisions with other road users including pedestrians and obstacles and respond by either preparing the brakes or physically applying the brakes without any driver input. In addition to automatic braking EBA (emergency brake assist) is used to allow the driver to apply maximum braking power with minimal effort which is useful in cases where the driver has to perform and emergency stop. EBA is designed to detect panic braking and activates within milliseconds which can reduce the stopping distance of a car by up to 70ft at 152mph. These are all example of active or automatic safety features in cars. Where Active safety features refers to technology to assist in preventing a crash passive safety refers to the actual components and design of features in a vehicle which help to protect the occupants in a crash. This includes crumple zones which work by increasing the amount of time the vehicle takes to come to a stop which reduces both the acceleration and force on the occupants thus reducing injury. They are designed to absorb the energy from an impact during a collision and as work is done to deform the crumple zones less there is less work on the occupants which reduces injury. The

Ayman Amin

Physics

Mr Bradford

effectiveness of crumple zone is staggering, (See appendix), if a crumple zone manages to increase the time to stop from 0.01 seconds to 0.2 seconds the force on your body is reduced from 10,000N to 500N. Seatbelts have saved thousands of lives it has been found that after the introduction of mandatory seatbelts 40% more accidents had escaped injury. They limit the distance an occupant travels so as to prevent occupants being thrown forward in the drastic deceleration of a crash. In the event of a crash, the occupant is thrown forward; if the occupant is wearing the seatbelt it will lock and stretch to slow down the occupants deceleration in a crash thus reducing the force the occupant is subjected to. The risk of fatality in a collision can be reduced by approximately 30% by an airbag; the risk of serious head injury is reduced by 50% or more in a typical family car which shows how vital airbags can be in a collision. Airbags are designed to inflate almost instantly inflate on impact so as to protect the occupants head, once inflated air is released which increases the time it takes for the occupant to come to a stop reducing the forces on them. On impact the windscreen of a car can shatter into large sharp pieces which can cause fatal injury. To overcome this problem cars are generally fitted with laminated glass which prevents the glass from shattering, furthermore if an occupant were to collide with the windscreen they would not be able to go through the glass which prevents them from ending up on the road. There are also dangers to the occupants from the interior of the vehicle. Placing objects on the parcel shelf or even in the boot of a car can be potentially deadly; if the car were to rapidly decelerate unrestrained items will be thrown forward, in a crash at just 30mph an unrestrained object would be thrown forward with a force 30 -60 times greater. To ensure this doesnt happen car users are advised to place items in the boot as in modern cars the structure between the cabin and the boot is strengthened. Further passive features modern cars use are electric windows which able the driver to focus on the task of driving rather than having to manually wind the window. Cruise control helps to prevent accidental speeding and in some cars radar guided cruise control is an option; this keeps a safe distance from the car in front and senses if the car in front is accelerating/decelerating and will act accordingly. Controls on the steering wheel allow the driver to keep both hands on the wheel thus keeping the driver in control.

How are cars designed to reduce the injuries to pedestrians in a collision? As almost two-thirds of people killed in worldwide in road accidents are pedestrians, cars manufacturers are also thinking more about pedestrians and the effect on them in a collision. The bonnet is usually manufactured from sheet metal which will absorb the energy if it were to come in contact with a pedestrian; as work is done to deform the bonnet less work is done on the pedestrian thus causing less injury. Furthermore the design of the bonnet is to hit the lower body first as striking the lower body has less of a chance of serious injury whereas hitting the head can be lethal(see appendix). In the case of 4x4s the pedestrian is not favoured; as the bonnet is higher up the pedestrian would be hit towards their upper body however there is currently research and development into external airbags to cushion pedestrians. Going back to automatic braking systems, if a pedestrian were to walk in front of a car with such a system in place the car would automatically stop which may avoid collision with the pedestrian. A frontal protection system (FPS) is in place at the front end of some vehicles to protect cyclists and pedestrians if they were to impact with the front of a car.

Ayman Amin

Physics

Mr Bradford

How are roads designed to reduce the chances and severity of a crash? The design of many lampposts and signs have changed in the recent past, they are now made to be weaker so in the event of a collision less damage is sustained by the vehicle

Ayman Amin

Physics

Mr Bradford

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_gateway/forces/crumplezo nesrev1.shtml 2) http://auto.howstuffworks.com/28000-traction-control-explained.htm 3) http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4966655_how-esp-works-cars.html 4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Braking 5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_brake_assist# 6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumple_zone 7) http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/26/pics-aplenty-iihs-reveals-before-and-afterof-malibu-bel-air-cr/ 8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seatbelt 9) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag 10) http://www.science.org.au/nova/057/057print.htm 11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_safety 12) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminated_glass 13) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_Safety_Through_Vehicle_Design 14) Own knowledge

Ayman Amin

Physics

Mr Bradford