Vehicle safety technology
Examples of VST were first implemented in the 20th century, when they were introduced by the automobile industry in response to legislators' efforts to reduce the number of road accidents.
Early examples of VST included safety glass, four-wheel hydraulic brakes, seat belts, and padded dashboards.
In 1934, General Motors began a scientific approach to vehicle safety by conducting the first crash barrier test.
Because of this, the government-funded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) recommends that consumers now look for VST features when purchasing a vehicle.
The potential amount lives that VST will save is vast, and the NHTSA is committed to making driving safer through the continued creation of new technologies and expansion of existing ones.
The United States Department of Transportation is also continuously seeking new methods of VST to combat the annual vehicular related deaths of over 30,000 people.
New safety technology is implemented with the manufacture of each new vehicle model, introducing better means of combating human error and creating a safer space on roads.
This constant advancement is backed by a 3.9 billion US dollar governmental investment over a ten-year period into VSTs.
Once received, a coffee symbol on the dashboard will illuminate or a verbal response will sound to alert the driver that they should take a break.
Companies such as SafeMode operate by analyzing driver behavior for "safety events", such as hard accelerations or breaking.
[4] Electronic stability control (also known as roll over protection) is a specific technology that helps keep the vehicle balanced.
During harsh weather or tough road conditions that would cause vehicle steering to be extreme, this technology allows the drivers to regain control and prevent possible crashes, roll overs, and fishtails.
In combination with automatic emergency braking technologies (see below), ESC controls each wheel individually to allow the driver to steer in the intended direction.
If the driver does not acknowledge the alert, AEB technology will then apply the brakes in hopes of avoiding or lessening the severity of a crash.
This technology uses the front facing radar sensors and cameras to detect pedestrians, then apply the brakes in hopes of avoiding a collision.
To reduce the occurrence of crashes related to blind spots, numerous companies have developed technologies that alert drivers to other cars near their vehicle.
These systems intend to prevent crashes and drowsiness by reducing the number of times a lane switch occurs without the use of a turn signal.
