What do you know about your vehicle's safety net?

A primer on how you can dodge a car accident

The aim of the first automobiles was to create motion, to propel a man or a group of individuals and their property, using a carriage powered by a motor planted in itself. Ironically, the subject of automobile safety remains an afterthought. In fact, life-saving safety features weren't even a concern until vehicles were capable of reaching triple-digit speeds which, by then, resulted in a number of traffic-related deaths.
Safety was first addressed - assuming the internal combustion engine was safe to use - in its most rudimentary form, which was the retardation of speed, provided by the application of braking technology. In the early days, this was an adaptation of the brakes used on horse-drawn carriages, which involved a hand-operated brake lever that pressed a simple wooden block against the wheel in order to slow it down. This technology went by a few centuries without any significant improvement, until the introduction of the drum brakes followed by the more advanced disc brakes, which is what we see in modern-day cars. But braking technology was only the beginning of a revolution.
Then came what is, arguably, the most important invention in the world of motoring safety: seat belts. You should know that you're twice as likely to survive a crash if you're wearing one of these nylon straps and you're less likely to sustain injury as well. And although the seatbelt was invented in the late 19th century and the modern-day three-point seatbelt was patented in 1955 by Nils Bohlin for Volvo, the use of it wasn't taken seriously until government regulations made it mandatory. Yet, even today, a sizeable population excuses itself from the three-second act of fastening their seatbelts by saying it creases their outfit or is just too uncool.
In time, several other safety features were developed - like energy-absorbing steering columns and shatter-free windshields, which improved overall life security aspects.
The next big revolution came with the introduction of the airbag. This collision-activated, self-inflating instant puff-pillow became the ultimate beacon of safety. It, too, was invented way back in the 1950s, yet it was only in 1998 that the US federal government mandated air bags on all cars.
With the inclusion of electronics in cars came passive, underlying safety systems like stability control, known by different names in different cars: ESP in Audi, PSM in Porsche etc. It's the mother algorithm that directs other algorithms like traction control, ABS and the like to, quite simply, keep the car on the road.
These days, we are way beyond that too. We have systems like blind spot assist that monitors your blind spots across your shoulders. It will alert you if there is a car in the neighbouring lane and you indicate a lane change; in premium vehicles or trims, they're provided corrective measures and turn the steering or brake the outer wheels to turn the car the other way. This works well, but mostly as a garnish on a brochure or spec sheet.
How about a parking assistant? An invisible eye-and-hand is programmed to locate an empty parking spot for you and will enthusiastically steer your car into the slot - be it into a street-style parallel parking space or into a garage. In most cars, you need to apply the accelerator and the brakes, but in high-end vehicles, even that requires no human input - giving you enough time to check your hair or straighten your tie before you attend office or a soiree. Seriously fancy, isn't it! In all our automatic parking tests, however, it has been successful two out of three times on an average.
The key safety feature of our age, we think, is FCW, an abbreviation for the Forward Collision Warning System, which is a system that uses laser, radar or camera technology to look out for traffic ahead; if the possibility of a collision is sensed, it will warn the driver in real time - using flashing lights on the instrument panel or windshield, beeps, or audible alerts. AEB or Automatic Emergency Braking takes it a notch higher by slowing the vehicle down without any driver input at all. That being said, in a similar system used in Mercedes-Benz vehicles, they claim that the car can scan up to 10,000 different profiles - human and otherwise - which helps it recognise them, in order to make the necessary evasive manoeuvres. But when asked: "Does it include a profile of a child or children?", they shied away and then later stated "No". This left a huge question mark in my mind.
Historically, with the development and introduction of new technologies, the cost of the vehicle rises. That's why these systems are mostly seen in luxury vehicles first. And even if they are available for affordable segments, they are tied with infotainment and convenience features, which are available as added-cost options or with higher trims, leaving them unavailable to the majority of the public.
Also, with the advancement of technology comes another vice. It has put cellphones in our hands. The use of these hand-held communication devices while driving disengages our minds temporarily from the act, sometimes resulting in an unfortunate circumstance. Further on, the evolution of the smartphone and the use of social media apps while on the move has called on the Grim Reaper to accompany the driver in the front seat. In fact, last year, a teen named Christal McGee, 19, crashed her car into another. The accident left the other driver in weeks of coma and he now suffers brain damage. What caused this incident? She was using the speed filter on the popular app Snapchat to document her driving over 160 km/h. Last heard, the victim was suing the teen and the app company.
We are now entering an age where cars are powered by high-horsepower machines with enough power to launch a small plane - like the 707 horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Dodge does provide two keys though, a black one that restricts the car to a 'mild' 500bhp and a red key that lets you exploit the full 707bhp. And although no auto-maker directly encourages reckless driving of any sort, it doesn't take a scientist to see that the combination of power that corrupts and fixation for the phone can be deadly.
Add to that the fact that autonomous driving is a rage. Videos of people engaging Tesla's autopilot to get to their destination - completely hands-free - have racked up millions of views on YouTube. But let's face it: each place and nation has its own driving style and patterns and even Tesla's successful autopilot has to be custom-configured for each region. It is certainly not foolproof.
It would be stupid on our part to ridicule companies that are pushing the envelope. This was simply to make you aware that advanced safety systems and autonomous driving programmes don't make motorists invincible. They haven't progressed so much that we can completely trust them as yet. And even if they soon do so, are we ready to accept electronic nannies that are smarter than us to actually make a life-saving decision in time? That is a question that remains to be answered.
In the end, we seem to be spending an increasing number of our waking hours on the road and/or behind the wheel. The roads are getting wider but the increase in traffic negates the advantage. Our digital friends are producing some of the most advanced AI mimicking safety features, but other technologies are dividing our attention.  
How I look at it is that even with availability of such technological wizardry, it is important to get our basics right. For example, very often we see children reaching for the stars not through career ambitions and homework, but literally through the open sunroofs of moving cars. All parents need to understand the importance of child safety and must keep their kids seated for the entire duration of the ride. And if your child is under 12 years of age, we suggest you get a child seat - cars have something called ISOFIX mounts to which you can latch on a child seat.
For now, we have to trust our vision, so we must keep our eyes on the road. We must rely on our driving skills, so it is important to keep our hands away from phones and on the wheel. And we must trust our feet. There is nothing like a good kick in the bottom - at the brake pedal - to save you from imminent harm. And lastly, for the safety of all, buckle up and hope that the silver lining on that cloud we call the air-bag keeps you well-cushioned from impact in worst-case scenarios.
On a broader scale, we must also understand that every life has a value - a fact summed up well by Erik Coelingh, Volvo's senior technical leader who handles the company's task of reducing death tolls caused by automobile fatalities to zero. When asked, "Why aim for zero?", he said, "Because it's the only acceptable number."
wknd@khaleejtimes.com

• On The Road