Examines the state-of-the-art in passenger car vehicle safety. Looks at both active and passive safety systems. Describes basic relationships and new developments related to accident avoidance (including man/machine interface) and mitigation of injuries. In addition to detail on accident avoidance, occupant protection and biomechanics, the book features thorough discussion of the interrelationships among the occupant, the vehicle and the restraint system (in frontal, lateral, rear impacts and rollover). Other subjects covered include safety legislation, vehicle body and interior design, accident simulation tests, pedestrian protection and compatibility.

Examining the state-of-the-art in passenger car vehicle safety, the book features thorough discussion of the interrelationships among the occupant, the vehicle, and the restraint system (in frontal, lateral, and rear impacts and rollover).

Even though a number of developed countries enjoy a high level of vehicle safety, more than 1.2 million fatalities still occur each year on roadways worldwide. There remains a need to continue improving vehicle and road safety. New technologies in sensors and electronic control units, and the growing knowledge of car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure technologies have led to a fusion of the previously separated areas of accident avoidance (popularly known as active safety) and mitigation of injuries (popularly known as passive safety) into the newer concept of integrated vehicle safety. This new approach represents a further step toward lowering accident rates. This book, written by two of the foremost automotive engineering safety experts, takes a unique and comprehensive approach to describing all areas of vehicle safety: accident avoidance, pre-crash, mitigation of injuries, and post-crash technologies, providing a solutions-based perspective of integrated vehicle safety. Also covered are accident investigation and worldwide legislation as they apply to integrated vehicle safety. The man-machine interface, biomechanics and development and simulation techniques are also key concepts that are thoroughly described. Special attention is given to driver assistance systems and to compatibility in car-to-car crashes and pedestrian protection. Chapters cover: accident research, functions of integrated safety, biomechanics and protection criteria, injury mitigation, adaptive occupant protection, compatibility, calculation and simulation, and the future. The book is useful for those interested in any aspect of automotive safety. Engineers and scientists from the automotive industry can learn new details as well as the broad perspective of vehicle safety today. The book also provides key information to traffic safety professionals, law enforcement, insurance practitioners, and journalists. Those who help shape traffic and vehicle legislation can gain a wider understanding of the topic to help them craft better laws. The book also serves as a valuable learning resource for academicians and students.

Automotive Vehicle Safety is a unique academic text, practical design guide and valuable reference book. It provides information that is essential for specialists to make better-informed decisions. The book identifies and discusses key generic safety principles and their applications and includes decision-making criteria, examples and remedies. It

Contains summaries of the knowledge regarding the effects of 128 road safety measures. This title covers various areas of road safety including: traffic control; vehicle inspection; driver training; publicity campaigns; police enforcement; and, general policy instruments. It also covers topics such as post-accident care, and speed cameras.

Car Safety Wars is a gripping history of the hundred-year struggle to improve the safety of American automobiles and save lives on the highways. Described as the “equivalent of war” by the Supreme Court, the battle involved the automobile industry, unsung and long-forgotten safety heroes, at least six US Presidents, a reluctant Congress, new auto technologies, and, most of all, the mindset of the American public: would they demand and be willing to pay for safer cars? The “Car Safety Wars” were at first won by consumers and safety advocates. The major victory was the enactment in 1966 of a ground breaking federal safety law. The safety act was pushed through Congress over the bitter objections of car manufacturers by a major scandal involving General Motors, its private detectives, Ralph Nader, and a gutty cigar-chomping old politician. The act is a success story for government safety regulation. It has cut highway death and injury rates by over seventy percent in the years since its enactment, saving more than two million lives and billions of taxpayer dollars. But the car safety wars have never ended. GM has recently been charged with covering up deadly defects resulting in multiple ignition switch shut offs. Toyota has been fined for not reporting fatal unintended acceleration in many models. Honda and other companies have—for years—sold cars incorporating defective air bags. These current events, suggesting a failure of safety regulation, may serve to warn us that safety laws and agencies created with good intentions can be corrupted and strangled over time. This book suggests ways to avoid this result, but shows that safer cars and highways are a hard road to travel. We are only part of the way home.

A pocket-sized technical reference designed to provide reliable data, at a practical level, for automotive engineers and mechanics.