In the modern world, the car has become an indispensable tool in our daily life. We use it to get to the office, take the kids to school, and of course to go on a road trip. And even if you don’t have a personal vehicle, you can rent a car anywhere in the world.
Yes, a car gives you freedom of movement wherever you go. For example, the minimum age to rent a car in Texas is 21. This means that you can enjoy car rental even if you are a young driver.
However, what is the most important quality of the car you drive? Comfort? Fuel efficiency? No, it’s safe! Driving a car is always a risk, but fortunately, modern technology is doing everything to reduce its degree. Cars are becoming faster, more efficient, and more advanced in terms of safety features. And today these options are present in almost all models.
Let’s check out the most important car technologies that ensure safe driving day by day…
Three-point seat belt
Volvo introduced the innovative three-point seat belts back in 1959. Your car may have a variety of safety systems such as airbags, ABS, traction control, and any others. However, without seat belts, these systems will be useless in the event of an accident and won’t be able to protect you from serious injury or death.
The safety system introduced by Volvo has revolutionized the global automotive industry and reduced the number of deaths on the roads around the world. So engineers install seat belts in all cars to this day.
Radial tires
Many people don’t realize that radial tires we use on almost all cars today are an important element of driving safety. Radial tires are much safer than bias tires, which are very stiff and less reliable.
It’s easier to damage a diagonal tire than a radial one. Plus, radial tires provide better traction. It’s all about tire technology. The radial tire uses a special technology that makes it more damage-resistant.
Want to check if your car has radial tires? Look for the letter “R” in the designation.
Airbags
Some people think airbags are a bad idea. Yes, sometimes erroneous deployment of airbags could cause injury to the driver and passengers. However, in the event of an accident, this technology is one of the most important for saving lives and protecting against serious injury. After all, it’s better to hit the airbag than the hard steering wheel. The airbag first appeared in 1971 on a Ford Taunus 20M P7B. This technology was invented by Allen Breed, who later passed it on to Chrysler.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
Although the ingenious French inventor came up with the ABS for airplanes, this technology soon found successful application in the automotive industry. So, having good brakes is one thing. However, they will be useless if you don’t have sufficient professional driving skills, no matter how powerful the braking system is.
In most cases, most drivers are not professionals and therefore don’t have big driving skills. This is where the ABS braking system comes in handy. It automatically prevents the wheels from locking when braking. As a result, this makes the braking distance shorter and keeps the vehicle stable. Today, the anti-lock braking system is installed in all mass-produced cars around the world.
Triplex safety glass
The windshield in all modern cars looks like normal glass until you break it. The damage and how the glass handles it are the main differences. Unlike ordinary glass, the windshield doesn’t shatter into small pieces when damaged, but cracks, remaining in the body frame. This ensures the safety of the driver and front passenger.
The safety of the windshield is made possible by the use of a triplex, which consists of two layers of glass. A special film laid between them prevents the glass from crumbling if damaged. Therefore, you are much less likely to get large cuts in the event of an accident.
Collapsible safety steering column
It’s interesting to know that a collapsible safety steering column was first used on Formula 1 racing cars. Since 1968, US law has required all automakers in America to use collapsible safety steering column technology in all serial production cars.
But unlike American cars, the use of a folding steering column wasn’t mandatory in Formula One racing. However, after the death of the legendary Ayrton Senna in 1994, Formula 1 management obliged all teams to use this technology on their cars as well.
Unleaded fuel
This type of fuel is less harmful than the leaded one used from 1923 to 1986. It contained the harmful component tetraethyl lead.
It all started when General Motors created a new brand of leaded fuel that contained poisonous lead. In addition to toxicity, this type of fuel had the property of spontaneously detonating, especially in the event of accidents. Also, fatal cases of poisoning were often recorded at the refinery. Despite this, the poisonous brand of fuel was widely used throughout the world until 1986. Since 1987, the production of this type of fuel has been banned almost all over the world. It was replaced by unleaded fuel that we use now.
Well, a modern car has a lot of technology on board. The ones we mentioned are not innovative, but are a solid foundation for safe driving today.
