By Automotive Online on April 10, 2009 8:15 AM

  While there have been enhancements in car and road designs over the years, injuries due to road mishaps constitute about 25% of the injury-linked deaths across the world. According to World Health Organization estimates about 1.2 million deaths occur each year. No wonder then, car safety features become all the more important to curtail injury and death figures in road crashes to the minimum.

In the wake of these startling statistics and continuing efforts of both car manufacturers and other agencies, a new path breaking technology is to feature in the cars of the future. This system has sprung up from research conducted by APROSYS or Advanced Protection Systems in Europe.

The so-called flinch-mechanism or technically the "intelligent side-impact protection system” works by anticipating collisions. This intelligent system requires the aid of computer-controlled stereo cameras and radar proximity detectors. These devices continuously keep a watch on the cars environments while you drive, in case anything is about to hit your car and the system detects it and the next phase of the mechanism gets activated (i.e. to flinch the car).

In order to make the car recoil, the steel bolt with springs installed within the seats are removed and force themselves on a metal box that in turn forces itself on the door. This mechanism prevents the car from being smashed by approximately 9 cm or 3.5 inches as the tests conducted with the system have shown.

The system would be so programmed that it would easily distinguish between moving objects such as other vehicles that are actually about to hit you and the harmless stationary objects in the environment such as trees etc. that seem to move because your car too is in motion. Moreover, it’s only a matter of a split second when autos moving at high speeds are about to collide, so the system has been designed with the ability to act just within 200 milliseconds of the impending impact.

While the system is new and path breaking, it would work best in conjunction with other car safety technologies such as air bags. As there are numerous factors that determine the safety of a car’s occupants, this technology covers a small yet important aspect of car safety. Still in its nascence the system could be found in cars about five years from now.

While there’s still sometime before the intelligent side-impact protection system is found in cars and that there are other technologies still in a state of conception, many safety features exist in the cars of today. These features can be classified as either Active or Passive. While the active safety features are geared towards preventing crashes from occurring, the passive ones are meant to minimize the impact on the human body following a collision.

The following are some of such devices and mechanisms that aim to ensure you have a safe journey in your car.

Active Safety Features:

1.Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA): This system works by continuously monitoring the speed of a vehicle. If it finds that the vehicle is moving faster than the prescribed limit for that particular speed zone (or exceeding the safety limit) the system either actively controls the speed or passively informs the driver that she’s driving at unsafe speeds. The several technologies currently used to determine local speed limits and the speed of the vehicle are GPS, Radio Beacons, Optical recognition and Dead Reckoning.

2.Turn signals and brake lights: These ensure that the drivers following your vehicle have advance information of your car’s upcoming maneuvers.

3.Rear End Collision Warning Lamps: This system senses whether the car that you’re following is slowing down and if so, then it flashes amber warning strobe rearwards to alert any following vehicles of a possible braking event.

4.Variable Assist Power Steering: Also known as the speed adjustable steering, the system helps the motorist by heavily assisting the driver at slow speeds, such as during parking maneuvers where it’s needed the most. However, at high speeds when little maneuvering is required the wheel automatically becomes lightly assisted. This mechanism prevents the drivers from either over-steering or under-steering at varying speeds.

5.Headlight Wipers/Washers: Just like the windscreen wipers enhance visibility during showers and clean up the screen when it gets dirty, the headlight washers/wipers have the same purpose, albeit they keep the headlight free from any obstructions.

6.Dynamic Steering Response (DSR): This car safety system corrects the rate of hydraulic or electric power steering system to adjust it to the car’s speed or road conditions.

7.Traction control system (TCS): This system is designed to prevent loss of traction (i.e. the grip between the wheels and the road) and thereby preventing the vehicle to lose control. This system comes in handy when excessive throttle or steering is applied. Some of the ways by which this is achieved are: suppressing the spark to one or more cylinders, reducing fuel supply to one or more cylinders, brake one or more wheels, etc.

8.Hill-Holder: This mechanism holds the brake until the clutch is at the point of friction. It comes in handy when you start up hills from a stop. The mechanism was invented by Studebaker and was introduced in 1936.

9.Four Wheel Drive (AWD): This refers to a four-wheeled vehicle whose all the wheels are powered by the engine as against just two wheels. This distributes power to all four wheels and hence decreases the chances of wheel spin.

10.Reverse Backup Sensors: These are meant to warn drivers of any nearby objects in their path. It's also known by the alternative names backup sensors, parking sonar or sonar. Some sensors’ technology relies on tone and gives a beep when a car is about to ram on to an object. The other technologies make use of liquid crystal display (LCD) screen or readouts to indicate distance from an object.

11.Electronic Stability Control (ESC): This technology improves the safety by detecting and forestalling skids and slides, thus allowing the driver keep the car under control. Often referred to as ESC or ESP, this system is made functional through a computerized system.

12.Lane Departure Warning System (LDW): This system is designed to forewarn a driver when the vehicle begins to change its lane. It’s mostly useful on freeways and arterial roads.

13.Directional Headlamps: This technology provides enhanced lighting during turns. Often cars have their headlamps linked to the steering mechanism enabling the lights to follow the movement of the front wheels.

14.Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS): This system prevents the wheels from locking when brakes are applied. Consequently, the driver is able to maintain steering control under a heavy braking situation.

15.Emergency Brake Assist (EBA): This system ensures maximum braking power to be used in an emergency stop situation. The system works by interpreting the speed and pressure at which the brake pedal is presses, if the system thinks that it’s an emergency situation then it applies the brakes till the time the Anti-lock braking system (ABS) gets activated to stop the wheels from locking up. Passive Safety Features:

1.Seatbelts: Also called as safety belts are harnesses that absorb energy and limit forward motion of a driver or a passenger of the car, thus preventing the human body from colliding with the interiors of the vehicle as also from being thrown out of the vehicle.

2.Shoulder Harness: Coupled with seatbelts they provide protection to the upper body, by preventing it from colliding with the stationary dashboard or windshield.

3.Air Bags: Also known as Supplementary Restraint System (SRS), Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS), Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) is a flexible membrane. The Air bags rapidly inflate when there’s a collision thus providing cushioning to the occupants during the accident.

4.Energy Absorbing Windshields: These windshields deform on impact and prevent the head to penetrate through it.

5.Crumple Zone: The crumple zone is a design feature within a car that compresses during a collision, thus absorbing the forces generated during the accident and saving the occupants. Most often, crumple zones are located in front of vehicles, but they can be found on the sides or other parts as well.

Keeping aside the technology to keep the occupants safe, many accidents occurs due to human error. While human error can’t be eliminated, it can be curtailed for sure. Many accidents can be avoided by not driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs or when fatigued, by being attentive while driving and following traffic rules.