By Eliza Geh

1921 - Head Rests

The worlds first head rest for cars was invented by Benjamin Katz, which is important when reducing the seriousness of whiplash in rear-end collisions.

 

1927 - Laminated Windscreen

The laminated windscreen was introduced by Henry Ford. This windscreen is made of two sheets of glass with a clear plastic film in the middle that holds them together. This windscreen reduces the danger to car occupants greatly as a result of the screen remaining in one piece when damaged.

 

1948 - Padded Dashboard 

The first car with a padded dashboard was introduced by Preston Tucker. The padded dashboard is designed to reduce face and chest injuries to the front occupants in front-on collisions.

 

1959 - Three-point Seat Belt

Volvo introduced the three-point seat belt in Sweden, which is considered to be the most important car safety feature of all time. The three-point seat belt secures the upper and lower body during a crash.

 

1963 - First Inertia-reel Seat Belt

 Excelsior Motor Company introduced a type of seat belt that enables the passenger to adjust the seat belt to suit their size when fastening. As a result of the inertia reel, the passengers are prevented from injury during rapid braking as the seat belt locks into place.

 

1970 - Seat Belts made Compulsory in Australia

 Australia was the first country that made the fitting of the seat belts mandatory for drivers and front seat passengers.

 

1978 - Electronic anti-lock Braking System

Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the first car with electronic ABS, which reduces skidding if a driver were to apply the brakes heavily and also reduces loss of control of the vehicle.

 

1981 - First Driver’s Airbag

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the first production car to have a driver’s airbag. This protects the driver in a front-on collision from hitting parts of the car.

 

1993 - Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP)

The ANCAP commences providing independent crash test results, which determines a vehicle’s safety for passengers in serious front and side collisions.

 

1995 - Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

Mercedes-Benz introduces the ESC, which assist drivers avoid crashers by reducing the danger of skidding.

 

1999 - ANCAP adopts EURO NCAP standards

ANCAP adopts the European New Car Assessment Programme methods of testing new vehicle safety. This test produces a rating out of five stars for front occupants and a four star rating for pedestrian protection.

 

2004 - Blind Spot Information System (BLIS)

Volvo introduces the first blind spot warning system, which uses reversing cameras and motion sensors to help drivers when parking or changing lanes.

 

2005 - Pop-up Bonnets

Pop-up bonnets are designed to reduce the pedestrians injuries and sensors are set off if a car hits a pedestrian, which raises the bonnet. This creates more space between the bonnet and the car engine to absorb the impact.

 

2008 - ESC added to ANCAP criteria

ESC was added to the ANCAP criteria to receive a five-star safety rating for a vehicle

 

2011 - ESC made mandatory in Australia

From 2011 in Australia ESC is made mandatory for all new cars sold

 

2011 - Pedestrian Detection 

Volvo releases pedestrian detection, which consists of radars and cameras to detect when people are in close proximity of the vehicle. This uses auto-brake technology, which causes the car stop if the driver doesn’t manually brake in time.

 

2011 - Adaptive Cruise Control

Adaptive cruise control detects the distance and speed of the vehicle in front and maintains an appropriate distance between the two cars. The adaptive cruise control can be over-ridden when the accelerator is pressed to overtake another car.