Cars of the Future - Part 6

Safety affects future styling and engineering

Air bags, stronger bumpers, computers to control braking and speed, periscope and other items are planned by government regulations

Designing and engineering of cars of the future will be greatly influenced by U.S. government safety regulations. Outwardly, the cars of the next few years won't be so much different in appearance because of the emphasis on safety. Looks will still be important. But "under the skin" they will have considerable changes such as computers and other electronic devices to aid drivers, and steel beams and bars. Newly-designed interiors will probably be the most notable safety-oriented items that will reflect appearance changes.

Emphasis on safety is due, of course, to the staggering statistics that reveal nearly 55,000 people die, 150,000 are totally crippled, and 4,500,000 are injured in automobile accidents each year. There are some 106,000,000 registered drivers in the U.S. driving approximately 105,000,000 registered vehicles, of which some 86,750,000 are passenger cars. Ten times as many persons have been killed in auto accidents than in the Vietnam war during the same period. These statistics reveal the magnitude of the job the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Safety Bureau and the auto manufacturers have on their hands as they strive to produce a safer car.

The U.S. government is working on amendments to 30 existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards adopted in the past four years. Some 30 new proposals are being considered for 1972-1975. In its 200-page book detailing its plan of action for 1970-1972, the National Highway Safety Bureau reports: "Rulemaking actions during. the 1967-70' period have provided a minimum level of safety performance for the majority of new vehicles entering the vehicle population. These actions were, for the most part, taken as a result of existing automotive safety technology." The rulemaking plan for the future "depends on a large extent on the generation of useful, quantitative results from the research program now in progress," says the bureau.

By October 1, the government seeks to eliminate all exterior protrusions, such as ornaments, that might injure a person hit by a car. Another regulation planned for 1972 is a speed control device to inform the driver he is exceeding a safe spied. Warning lights would flash inside and outside the vehicle when a preset speed is exceeded. A regulation is proposed for 1972 that would call for improvements that would prevent carbon monoxide from leaking into the passenger compartment. A government regulation proposed for January 1, 1972, considers an interlock device would not allow a car to be started until the driver had buckled his seat belt. Gauges are proposed for 1972 that would automatically show if tires are under or over inflated.

A regulation proposed for 1973 calls for a firewall to separate engine from passengers to combat the problem of flaming fuel leaking into the passenger compartment in a crash. Minimum strength standards for car roofs to insure passenger protection in rollover crashes is proposed to go into effect by January 1, 1973.

One of the most significant safety standards proposed for 1973 is the requirement of a minimum standard for bumper strength to offer more protection in a crash. Rules on height of bumpers are proposed by 1974. The State of Florida has already passed a bumper law that forbids sale of cars that can be damaged in low-speed crashes. All cars sold in Florida after January 1, 1973, must have bumpers that can withstand a 5 mph collision without damage. Already several firms are developing crashworthy bumpers.

The U.S. government has awarded contracts to three firms to build a safety car prototype to aid in production of safety features for production cars of the future. The firms are Fairchild Hiller, a division of Republic Aviation; American Machine & Foundry Company's Systems Division in Santa Barbara, Calif.; and General Motors. The Fairchild and AMF prototypes are to be completed for testing by the end of 1971, while GM's car is scheduled for 10 months after that.

Government officials report that these safety prototypes will feature such devices as improved bumpers, air bags, periscopes for better vision, and many other safety items. Enough protective equipment is to be installed in the car to make survivable a 50 mph crash into a solid barrier.

Auto manufacturers claim they are making a sincere effort to build safety into their cars and that safety features are not just those forced upon them by government regulations.

Computer-controlled anti-skid systems, now optional on several 1971 models, will probably become standard equipment in the near future.

Kelsey-Hayes, a major supplier to auto manufacturers, has developed an anti-wheel-lock system to control skids. The Kelsey-Hayes system "pumps" the brakes in response to what the wheels are actually doing with a speed and degree of control exceeding that of the driver's capability. Sensing an impending skid, an electronic control module acts to relieve hydraulic brake pressure at the wheel, allowing the wheel to roll. While the brake system pressure remains constant under the operator's pedal pressure, the skid-control system automatically varies wheel cylinder pressure to keep the wheel rolling, just short of a skid. Kelsey-Hayes officials say "the system is completely fail- safe and it operates only in an emergency braking situation when wheel lockup is imminent, and it returns the braking system to normal manual operation in the event of a malfunction."

Other companies that have developed electronic anti- skid systems include Bendix Borg-Warner, Delco-Moraine and TRW.

Observers inside the auto industry say the car makers are much more careful about new developments these days. They don't want to release anything into mass production even if it has only a two per cent failure rate.

They are afraid of watch dogs such as Ralph Nader, plus the government. Moreover, there is the problem of government recall campaigns on defective vehicles.

 These recall campaigns are the result of Section 113 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, which requires that: "Every manufacturer of motor vehicles shall furnish notification of any defect in any motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment produced by such manufacturer which he determines, in good faith, relates to motor vehicle safety, to the purchaser (where known to the manufacturer) of such motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment, within a reasonable time after such manufacturer has discovered such defect."

The National Highway Safety Bureau, which receives numerous requests for information on defects in motor vehicles, publishes quarterly summary reports on defect campaigns conducted by domestic and foreign manufacturers. These summary reports are- available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, at a price established by the Superintendent of Documents.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and National Highway Safety Bureau have begun publishing a series of consumer booklets that compare performance characteristics of all new cars sold in the United States. The first booklet, titled "Performance Data for New Passenger Cars and Motorcycles," dated January, 1970, covers three specific areas: stopping ability, acceleration and passing, and tire reserve load. The first booklet, 304 pages, is available from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. for $2.25. John A. Volpe, Secretary of Transportation, said a number of additional performance categories are under consideration, including side door strength and driver's field of view.

Volpe stresses that the data presented in the booklets have been provided by the individual auto manufacturers in response to regulations issued by the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration; the data reflect actual vehicle performance capabilities. "Safe vehicles alone, however, as important as they are to the goal of reducing deaths and injuries, will not provide the entire answer," said Volpe. "Much will always depend on you, the driver - how you handle your car, whether you drive when you have been drinking, whether you obey traffic laws, and how well you keep your vehicle in a state of safe repair."

The government is also seeking better rearward fields of vision by July 1, 1973. This could have significant affect on styling. A periscope-type device may replace rearview mirrors. A closed circuit television monitor for rearview vision is also a possibility.

Within three years, head restraints may be replaced by some form of pop-up restraint that may be actuated in a collision. Motorists complained that present style head restraints restrict rearward vision.

One of the most controversial proposals for 1973 is the installation of air bags in the passenger compartment. The bags inflate automatically in a fraction of a second to protect the driver and passenger in event of a crash. The speed in which the air bag opens causes a noise so loud that damage to the human ear is possible, say the auto makers. They want more time research and develop interior cushioning of restraints for vehicles. Some engineers and designers are advocating heavily padded forms that protrude from the dashboard and rear of the front seat to cushion the driver or passengers who fall forward at impact. Other engineers propose wrap-around seats to protect passengers from impact of crashes from the side. A special safety belt for pregnant women is also proposed.

Targeted to take effect January 1, 1973, is a regulation for safer doors. The new standard specifies a strong door structure, an effective restraint system and energy- absorbing material on the interior surface of the car. The standard calls for car doors that will crush inward less than six inches when struck by a 2,2504b. force and less than 12 inches when struck by a 3,500-lb. force.

Probably one of the most important safety standards proposed is one aimed at drunk drivers. Accident re- searchers report that drinking and drunk drivers are responsible for more than half of the nearly 55,000 traffic fatalities annually. Under the government proposal, which may be required on cars, trucks and buses by January 1, 1975, a device would be installed which would detect whether a person who got behind the wheel was too drunk to drive. The device would require the driver to perform some simple task, which although easy for a sober person, would be difficult for an intoxicated person. For example, General Motors' AC Electronics Divisions has a device in which a driver watches a series of numbers on a screen in front of him and then is allowed several seconds to press buttons corresponding to those numbers before he would be able to start his vehicle. Such a drunk and interlock device would probably cost less than $ 1 0.

Researchers claim that most persons arrested for drunken driving are not social drinkers, but hard-core alcoholics, probably as many as six million in the U.S.

Cars of the future, possibly within the next few years, may be so safe that "normal" drivers will rarely be injured in an auto accident. However, there is still the problem of what to do about not only drunken drivers but drug users, psychopaths or inexperienced or careless drivers. Improper driving is a factor in 80 per cent of all fatal accidents. Driving too fast, or too fast for conditions, is blamed in 30 percent of all fatal accidents.

More than half of all crash deaths occur in night accidents. Better street and highway lighting, along with improved lighting for vehicles, would probably reduce this substantially. Technology is already making gains for better lighting, which should show up in the traffic of the future.

Vehicles of future may have tubular steel bar around perimeter of vehicle just above bumper height, plus two roll bars concealed in sides and roof. 

Coming Soon - Part #7 The Future of Racing