Vehicles are continuously evolving

Vehicle Safety

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Vehicle Safety
Safety Features
Vehicles are continuously evolving to cater to the different environments in which they operate and their safety concerns. For a vehicle to be deemed roadworthy, it must meet certain safety standards and have specific safety features, including airbags, antilock brakes, traction control, adaptive headlights, and seatbelts (Gazder, 2021). During a collision, airbags are immediately initiated to protect the occupantsfrom contact areas such as the vehicle’s sides, steering wheel, and dashboard. When the brakes are suddenly applied, antilock brakes prevent the wheels from locking. This prevents the car from spinning out on a slippery road from locked wheels, thus making it easy to steer.
Traction control is an electronic component that reduces wheel spin rate when accelerating. This is helpful in skidding prevention, especially when paired with antilock brakes. Adaptive headlights track a vehicle’s elevation to better light the road while decreasing glare for approaching cars, improving vision and making it easier for other drivers to see. Seatbelts are often considered the single most in a vehicle. They function by maintaining a more static motion in the passenger despite a quick stop or shift in momentum.
How these Features Save Lives
Seatbelts are the primary measure for injury prevention in both minor and major road accidents. They attach one’s body mass to that of the car, which means the individual’s momentum will equal the vehicle when the car accelerates or decelerates (Gazder, 2021). If the car quickly stops after moving at a steady velocity and the passenger has no seatbelt on, theywill continue to travel at the same speed, most likely crashing into the object closest to them.
In the event of a collision, airbags are designed to inflate before the passengers’ bodies are forced forward by the impact. They lengthen the time it takes for the passenger to come to a complete stop (Gazder, 2021). The more time it takes to decelerate, the smaller the impact force during a collision, which translates to a lower impulse. This means that the injuries sustained when the airbag is deployed will be less severe.
Antilock brakes and traction control work hand in hand to prevent skidding and spinning off of the wheels. They work by increasing the frictional force between the tires and the road surface, which ensures the car remains stable. Adaptive headlights increase the visibility of the driver at night, making it possible for the driver to cruise smoothly at any velocity.

References
Gazder, U. (2021, November). Awareness of and Their Use and Impact on Accidents. In2021 Third International Sustainability and Resilience Conference: Climate Change(pp. 394-398). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEECONF53624.2021.9668163