The automobile industry has had a long journey when considering the safety department. Year after year, the safety features in the car have improved drastically. The vehicles that we own today are equipped with some of the best-in-class safety features. But, do you know that there was a time when cars didn't have seatbelts or airbags? Let's look at seven safety inventions in cars and trace their history!
Until the 1940s, cars came with only lap belts. Volvo later introduced the 3-point seatbelts to the world of automobiles. However, these belts were not made mandatory till 1959. The good thing is that today every car and vehicle comes with this kind of safety seatbelt.
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Do you know that the concept of airbags came only in the 1905s? But no automobile brand could perfect the airbag concept for a long time. In the 1970s, General Motors developed a fully functional airbag. GM called it their “Air Cushion Restraint System.” Back then, the airbag feature came with only luxury cars.
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Aeroplanes utilized the anti-braking system in the 1960s when this invention first came into the picture. By the 1970s, not only planes but cars and other vehicles were also equipped with this safety feature. Mario Palazetti invented the modern-day ABS in the Fiat Research Center.
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The disc brakes were one of the early inventions in the automobile industry. But it took a whopping five decades for Citroen to master this feature completely. Citreon was one of the first companies to mass-produce cars with this feature. Before this invention, all the cars came with drum brakes. This invention improved the effectiveness of vehicles.
In 1952, Mercedes developed the crumple zone safety feature and patented it the same year. Crumple zones absorb kinetic energy during an impact. This safety feature ensured minimum effect, keeping the passengers and interior cabins safe.
Eduoard Benedictus was the chemist who accidentally developed safety glass in his lab in 1903. Later, the tucker car company introduced this feature in their Torpedo model. When hit, the safety glass shatters into many tiny pieces to prevent injuries to the passengers. Today, the safety glass is a standard feature in every other car.
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Stability control is one safety feature that has saved countless lives. But, the history and origin of this feature are not entirely understood. Frank Werner Mohn, a young safety engineer, designed this feature on his test trip with a Mercedes car. He worked on this prototype on the Mercedes HQ in Stuttgart.
These age-old safety inventions are why modern-day cars are highly safe. Thanks to these safety innovations, driving is a safe and smooth experience!
