Car safety became an issue almost immediately after the invention of the automobile, when Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot crashed his steam-powered “Fardier” against a wall in 1771. One of the earliest recorded automobile fatalities was Mary Ward, on August 31, 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland. In the 1930s, plastic surgeon Claire L. Straith and physician C. J. Strickland advocated the use of seat belts and padded dashboards. Strickland founded the Automobile Safety League of America. In 1934 GM performed the first barrier crash test.In 1949 SAAB incorporated aircraft safety thinking into automobiles making the Saab 92 the first production car first with a safety cage.In 1942 Hugh De Haven published the classic Mechanical analysis of survival in falls from heights of fifty to one hundred and fifty feet.
In the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz extensively crash tested prototypes. In 1958, the United Nations established the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, an international standards body advancing auto safety. Many of the most life saving safety innovations, like seat belts and roll cage construction were brought to market under its auspices.
In 1966, the U.S. established the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) with automobile safety one of its purposes. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was created as an independent organization on April 1, 1967, but was reliant on the DOT for administration and funding. However, in 1975 the organization was made completely independent by the Independent Safety Board Act (in P.L. 93-633; 49 U.S.C. 1901).
The NTSB and its European equivalent, EuroNCAP have each issued independent safety tests for all new automobiles, without reciprocity.
In June, 2004 the NTSB released new tests designed to test the rollover risk of new cars and SUVs. Only the Mazda RX-8 got a 5-star rating. However, the correlation between official crash test results and road deaths in vehicles is not exact. An alternative method of assessing vehicle safety is to study the road accident statistics on a model-by-model basis.
Despite technological advances, the death toll of car accidents remains high: about 40,000 people die every year in the U.S. While this number increases annually in line with rising population and increased travel, the rate per capita and per vehicle miles travelled decreases. In 1996 the U.S. had about 2 deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles, comparable to 1.9 in Germany, 2.6 in France, and 1.5 in the UK. In 1998 there were 3,421 fatal accidents in the UK, the fewest since 1926. A much higher number of accidents result in permanent disability.
Tags: Automobile, Automobile safety, safety, technological