Homework Week 5 - due Friday 1st March.

[Admin]

Hi everyone,

This weeks article is:
"DEATH-DEFYING DESIGNS FOR CAR SAFETY"
and can be accessed at http://www.science.org.au/nova/057/057key.html

Question options: Please select one to respond to in a short paragraph.

1. Which of the four safety features to you believe to be the most important in the prevention of road injury/death? Justify your choice.
2. Identify and explain the common principle at work in crumple zones, seat belts and air bags.
3. Do you think the government is doing enough to continue decreasing the road toll? If so - how are they doing this, and if not - what else could they be doing?

Please note: due to my delay in updating the notification, I have given you an extra week t complete your post. It is now due in week 5 rather than week 4.

Enjoy!

[Peter Tran]

I believe that they are.
They are still funding researchers who are looking into road and crash safety and supplying them with what they need to keep inproving methods of saving people whenever they are in jeopardy. If they keep going, then we will (eventually) get to a point where people are no longer in a 50/50 chance of getting seriously injured in a crash but at least a 70/30 chance. They could however try a little harder and put a little more effort and money into it.

[Moeez Khan]

I believe that the Seat belt is the most important feature in a car for prevention of fatal injury in an accident. This is because seat belts provide a restraint for us when in a car crash and no (normal) person wants to be fast moving projectile out of a car. Seat belts also prevent fatality or even major injuries and they prevent you from hitting anything whilst in a car crash.

[KdIzZlE nIzZlE]

I believe that the seat belt is the most important piece of safety equipment because of the amount of lives it has saved compared to the other three.
Seat belts provide restraint to collision and therefor stopping you from flying out of your wind shield and causing fatal injury.
As you can see by the statistics, seat belts have been critical in saving lives in crashes by 50%.
These are only a few examples but are enough to see why seat belts are important.

[Tiddles]

I believe that the airbags are the most important feature of the car's safety features. The airbag is placed at the the centre of the steering wheel to prevent the driver smashing his/her skull and other important body parts on the solid surfaces on the inside of the car. Without these bags to cushion the impact it would be almost 100% guarantee the death of the driver. Experiment and tests have proved that the use of the airbags greatly reduces this number.

[Conor O'Brien]

I think that air bags are the most important device in preventing road deaths and injury. They stop the person in the car accident from hitting their head on the steering wheel or dashboard which would kill you. It would also prevent your chest from smacking into the steering wheel/dashboard.

[Gustavo Borromeo]

The common principle at work in a crumple zone is that there are areas on the car frame on either the front or back of a car which break or fold in case of an impact to absorb some of the force. Seatbelts hold a person back during a crash or sudden stop preventing them from flying into the windshield or front seat. The seatbelt helps distribute the force of a person moving forward across their chest and hip. Air bags cushion the impact force from a crash and slowly deflate to slow the person down to prevent injury.

[James Galea]

I think the airbag is the most important. This is because within 60milliseconds it can be up and fully active. It helps because its protects the head from injury and can help the driver or passenger avoid a concussion or other fatal head injuries. Seat belts are good but if it wasn't for the airbag then their would still always be a strong risk of head injury to the driver or passenger

[Mr. Hankey]

In my personal opinion the 'Safer Cars' are what would help decrease fatalities on our roads. Airbags can cause neck and back injury possible causing more danger than they are preventing. Crumple zones are effective in a small crash, but if someone came head on impact with a hard impact the crumple zone would be a problem. Besides these are not practical as they would make any minor accident a big repair job. Seatbelts can also severely injure the victims lungs and chest areas where many fatal organs are located. No doubt that the seatbelt helps in a head on crash, but if you are struck from the side, a stronger car would be the more desired option. Mainly for the fact that if you have a strong car, you do not need any of the other things mentioned. A strong car could withstand any damage, hence protecting the user inside, thus why a stronger car would be the most effective option.

Howdy Ho.

[hamish dog]

The common principal in crumple zones, seat belts and air bags is to lower impact with the hard surfaces of the car which could cause damage to a human body.

Crumple Zones are designed to absorb kinetic energy which travels through the front of the car and can possibly injure the driver or passenger(s). The concept is that as the front of the car crumples it absorbs the majority of the energy directed at the driver or passenger(s).

Seat Belts are most likely the best safety application in a car. The seat belt simply reduces the possibility of the driver and/or passenger(s) coming into contact with the hard, strong parts of the car during a crash.

Air Bags are the decelerating force which slows the driver and/or passenger(s). This in effect, minimizes the possible injuries occurring to the driver.

[Rod_1997]

Out of the four safety features mentioned in the article, I believe that seat belts are the most important in the prevention of road injury/death. Despite the fact that seat belts can cause seat belt induced 'burns' and bruises to the chest and pelvis in the event of a crash, seat belts prevent the driver/passengers from serious injury/death. In 1973, Australia introduced the law that it was compulsory to wear seat belts. Since then, researchers estimate that "seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants by 45 per cent and the risk of serious injury by 50 per cent."

[RhysDog]

I think anti lock brakes or ABS are the most important safety feature in a car. ABS works by rapidly putting pressure on the brake calipers then releasing so the car can slowly but surely come to a stop or decrease speed. Otherwise the wheels would just stop suddenly and skid out, and at high speeds and even slower speeds, this isn't good, at all. People would be skidding out and crashing all over the road. complete mayhem I tell you.

[KStricker]

The seatbelt is one of the most revolutionary safety features of the car. Like Newton's 1st law of motion (Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force) a human being will not stop accelerating when the car stops suddenly. That's where the seatbelt comes in. It stops you from flying out the window like bullet peiercig through glass. like the statistics say, it reduces the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants by 45% and the risk of serious injury by 50%. I say that is a job well done!

[Vento]

I believe that ABS or anti-lock brakes is the best feature for reducing the risk of being in a fatal car accident. This works by rapidly decelerating the car and reducing the stopping distance. ABS also reduces the loss of traction you have in a stopping emergency which therefore increases the steering ability of the driver.

[Elliott Duggen]

1. Which of the four safety features to you believe to be the most important in the prevention of road injury/death? Justify your choice.
I believe the Anti-lock brake is the most important safety feature. I believe this because the brake stops the car from crashing, in the first place, by sending signals from sensors on the brakes to a small computer called the 'controller'. Just before the wheel locks it will experience a rapid deceleration, or loss of speed. The 'controller' picks up when the car does this and opens a valve to release pressure from the brake, therefore allowing the wheel to keep moving. The pressure is then applied on and off so that the car eventually comes to a stop.

[JOBrien15]

Essentially, 'crumple zones' are weaker areas in the cars bodywork that are designed to absorb as much energy as possible during a crash. These weaker areas reduce the jolt of otherwise hard materials colliding at high speed 'cushioning' the impact... to a point. The same principle applies to airbags but instead of colliding cars they are designed to stop peoples heads going through the dashboard. The seatbelt restrains the person inside the car to stop them from smashing into the dashboard or exiting through the windshield during the impact...

[Jackson F]

I believe the seat belt as the most important safety feature as one of features of the belt is that it disperses the force of the crash to other areas of the body so the force wouldn't go to the directly to an area. If people are not strapped in, they may be come a projectiles and fly through the windshield or fly willy-nilly inside the car. Where if they were strapped in, they would of been battered and bruised which compared to death, is much better.

[Daniel Galea]

I think the seat belt is the safest feature of the car because is has saved multiple lives in the past and studies show that in past car accidents may have survived if they were wearing their seat belt. This is because the seat belt disperses the force of the crash to other areas of the body so the force wouldn't go to the directly to a certain area of the body relieving the pain of the crash in those areas, potentially saving your life

[MMunecas]

In my opinion, I believe that the seat-belt is the most important feature in the prevention of road injuries because it can reduce the risk of severe injury. People driving at breakneck speeds can be irresponsible and cause car crashes but theirs and the victims lives may be potentially saved by the act of wearing a seat belt. This is because if someone felt the reaction of a car crash (Law of Inertia) if front on, would be to shift forward instantly at full impact, but if wearing the seat belt, the driver of passengers would be restrained and kept in their seat, and not plunged forward through the windshield which may cause further damage.

[chris johnston]

I belive seat belts are the safest feature on a car. in a serrious crash seatbelts double your chances of survial and they hold you in your seat and reduce the impacts of a crash. since 1973 when seat belts were made compulsory, the number of road related faitalitys has decreased. for these resons i belive that seatbeltss are the safest feature on a car

[jcordina]

3. Do you think the government is doing enough to continue decreasing the road toll? If so - how are they doing this, and if not - what else could they be doing?

I believe that the Australian government is doing enough. They are not trying to find a quick easy fix because that is almost impossible. Instead they are trying to find many different ways to reduce the risk to you and other passengers during a car accident. You may think that these things alone are not enough, which is correct, but you also have to take into account there are no real solutions that will completely eliminate the risk of death in a car accident. It is the culminative safety benefits from all of these little things that makes Australian roads among the safest in the world.

[TaylrTownsnd]

The introduction of the seatbelt is by far the most effective way of preventing injuries in the event of a collision.
Collisions either happen, or they don't. So most of the safety attention should to be minimising the severity of the crash by keeping the passengers secure in the compartment.

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