Passive car safety: what protects the driver and passengers. Vehicle active safety systems

Passive safety is a set of systems installed in a car that reduce the consequences of a traffic accident for the driver and passengers. Conventionally, they can be divided into structural and operational elements. passive safety. The former include various elements of the car structure, which reduce the degree of deformation of the body upon impact or prevent damage to passengers, disabling the components and assemblies of the car ( steering column, engine). The second includes airbags and seat belts, which reduce the traumatic consequences of accidents.

Structural passive safety systems appeared in cars earlier than operational ones. The designers of automobile companies, examining the damage to the bodies of cars that suffered in an accident, came to the conclusion that vehicles need to be strengthened both inside and out. The first element of the passive safety of the "iron horses" were bumpers - bars mounted on springy brackets on the front and rear of the car and absorbing impact energy.

They were first installed in 1898 on the President car, and these passive safety elements began to be used serially on the model. Ford Model A. Over the years, bumpers improved, became less heavy and were made not of metal, albeit protected by rubber pads, but of plastic.

In addition to installing bumpers, the designers mounted steel plates on the front and rear of the auto body, which protected the vehicle from deformation when hit from the front or rear. Such an element of passive safety is also used on modern cars mobiles.

Another element of passive safety, which appeared at the dawn of the automotive industry - steel anti-shock cross beams installed in the doors. With these bars, engineers reinforced the design of the side doors, which were less deformed during a side impact than doors without such elements. For the first time, such structures began to be used on cars in the mid-1930s and gradually, having proved their necessity, they began to be installed on all passenger cars without exception. At the same time, the designers worked on and determined the deformation zones of the body - places in the body that were deformed during side, front, rear impacts or rollover of the car, absorbing the impact energy and allowing you to save the car interior and passengers sitting in it from significant damage. The first cars in which the technology of deformation zones of the body was implemented left the assembly line Mercedes-Benz in the 1950s.

TO structural elements passive safety, in addition to the above, also includes a safety steering column and pedal assembly, soft parts of the front panel, reinforced front pillars, the Sandwich Panel system (ensuring the engine leaves under the bottom of the car in a frontal impact) and safety glass.

Tramobezopasnaya steering column has a telescopic mechanism, which, in the event of a frontal impact, folds the column into the front panel, thus preventing damage to the driver's chest. The pedal assembly with the same impact works like this: the brake, gas and clutch pedals fly off the mounts, reducing the risk of breaking the driver's legs. soft details dashboard during a frontal impact, they are crushed without causing damage to the driver and passengers, and special tempered glass when broken, they shatter into many fragments with blunt edges. Triplex ( laminated glass) with such an impact, it retains the structure of the glass, becoming covered with a web of cracks - which is why this particular glazing material is mainly used on modern cars. Finally, the so-called sandwich panel system allows, in a frontal impact, to shift the engine under the bottom of the car, preventing it from entering the passenger compartment.

The first elements of operational passive safety were belts, which began to be used on cars at the beginning of the 20th century. They allow you to keep the human body in an accident in a chair, preventing contact with the steering column. The first seat belts were two-point (attached to the seat frame in two dreams), in the process of developing safety technology, the number of attachment points grew.

An evolutionary step in the development of seat belt design was the use of inertial mechanism and pretensioners, which during a collision regulate the force of keeping the body of drivers and passengers in the seat. According to statistics, it was seat belts that saved more lives (70%) than pillows (20%). By the way, the first airbags began to be used in cars in the late 1960s on cars Chrysler, but these elements did not have popularity, since the percentage of deaths in cars equipped with pillows was still high.

Studies have shown that the effectiveness of airbags increases significantly if they are used in combination with seat belts - after all, an unfastened person in an accident receives a strong blow from an deployed airbag. Therefore, even 7 or 9 airbags installed in a car do not guarantee survival if the driver and passengers were not fastened. Today, there are not only interior (front, side, curtain type), but also external airbags that are installed in front of the car. In the event of a collision with a pedestrian, such an airbag inflates and cushions the impact, preventing the death of the pedestrian.

Finally, another element of operational passive safety is the head restraints, which are installed on the backs of the front and rear row seats. These devices help protect the neck of passengers and the driver in a rear impact. The first headrests were equipped with cars Mercedes-Benz brands. Structurally, these devices are divided into active (can be adjusted in height and angle) and fixed (rigidly built into the seat backs).

According to the available statistics, most of this happens with the participation of cars, therefore, the designers and manufacturers of cars pay special attention to safety considerations. A large amount of work in this direction is carried out at the design stage, where modeling of all kinds of dangerous moments that can occur on the road is carried out.

IN modern systems Active and passive vehicle safety includes both separate auxiliary devices and rather complex technological solutions. The use of this whole range of tools is designed to help car drivers and all other participants traffic make life safer.

Active safety systems

The main task installed systems active safety consists in creating conditions to exclude the occurrence of any kind. At the moment, active safety is mainly responsible for electronic systems car.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the driver is still the main link ensuring the absence of emergency situations on the road. All available electronic systems should only help him in this and facilitate the management of the vehicle, correcting minor errors.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Anti-lock braking devices are currently installed on most of all vehicles. Such safety systems help to prevent blocking of the wheels at the time of braking. This makes it possible to maintain controllability of the vehicle in all difficult situations.

The greatest need for application ABS systems usually occurs when moving on a slippery road. If, during icy conditions, the vehicle control unit receives information that the speed of rotation of any of the wheels is less than that of the others, then the ABS regulates the pressure of the brake system on it. As a result, the speed of rotation of all wheels is aligned.

Traction Control (ASC)

This type of active safety can be considered one of the varieties of anti-lock braking system, and it is designed to ensure vehicle controllability during acceleration or climbing on a slippery road. slip in this case prevented by the redistribution of torque between the wheels.

Electronic Stability Program (ESP)

This kind of active vehicle safety system helps to keep the vehicle stable and prevent accidents. emergencies. At its core, ESP uses anti-slip and anti-lock systems, stabilizing the movement of the car. In addition, ESP is responsible for drying the brake pads, which greatly facilitates the situation when driving on a wet track.

Brake Force Distribution (EBD)

It is necessary to distribute braking forces in order to exclude the possibility of skidding the vehicle during braking. EBD is a type of anti-lock braking system and redistributes pressure in brake system between the front and rear wheels.

Differential lock system

The main task of the differential is to transmit torque from the gearbox to the drive wheels. Such a security complex ensures the transmission of force to all consumers in the case when one of the drive wheels has bad grip with the surface, is in the air or on a slippery road.

Descent or ascent assistance systems

The inclusion of such systems greatly facilitates the control of the vehicle when driving downhill or uphill. The purpose of the electronic assistance system is to maintain the required speed by braking one of the wheels if necessary.

parking system

Parktronic sensors are activated when the car is maneuvering in order to prevent it from colliding with other objects. In order to warn the driver, sound signal, sometimes the display shows the remaining distance to the obstacle.

Hand brake

The main purpose parking brake– in keeping the vehicle in a static position during parking.

Vehicle passive safety systems

The goal that any passive vehicle safety system should fulfill is to reduce the severity possible consequences in the event that an emergency does occur. Applied methods of passive protection can be as follows:

• safety belt;
• airbag;
• headrest;
• made from soft material details of the front panel of the machine;
• front and rear bumpers absorbing energy upon impact;
• folding steering column;
• secure pedal assembly;
• suspension of the engine and all the main units, leading it under the bottom of the car in case of an accident;
• production of glass using technology that prevents the occurrence of sharp fragments.

Safety belt

Among all the passive safety systems used in a car, belts are considered one of the main elements.

In the event of an accident, seat belts help keep the driver and passengers in their place.

Airbag

Along with restraint belts, the airbag is also one of the main elements of passive protection. Rapidly inflating airbags protect vehicle occupants from injury from the steering wheel, glass or dash when they occur.

Headrest

Headrests allow you to protect the cervical region of a person in some types of accidents.

Conclusion

Active and passive vehicle safety systems in many cases help prevent accidents, but only responsible behavior on the road can largely guarantee the absence of serious consequences.

ACTIVE SAFETY

What is ACTIVE VEHICLE SAFETY? In scientific terms, it is a set of constructive and operational properties car, aimed at preventing traffic accidents and eliminating the prerequisites for their occurrence associated with the design features of the car. And to put it simply, these are the car systems that help in preventing an accident. Below - more about the parameters and systems of the car that affect its active safety.

1. RELIABILITY

Reliability of components, assemblies and systems of the vehicle is a determining factor in active safety Particularly high requirements are placed on the reliability of the elements associated with the implementation of the maneuver - the brake system, steering, suspension, engine, transmission, and so on. Increasing the reliability is achieved by improving the design, the use of new technologies and materials.

2. VEHICLE LAYOUT

The layout of cars is of three types:
a) Front-engine - the layout of the car, in which the engine is located in front of the passenger compartment. It is the most common and has two options: rear-wheel drive (classic) and front-wheel drive. The last type of layout - front-engine front-wheel drive - is now widely used due to a number of advantages over drive on rear wheels: - better stability and handling when driving at high speed, especially on wet and slippery roads;
- providing the necessary weight load on the driving wheels;
- lower noise level, which is facilitated by the absence of a cardan shaft.
In the same time front wheel drive cars also have a number of disadvantages:
- at full load, acceleration on the rise and on wet roads worsens;
- at the moment of braking, too uneven distribution of weight between the axles (70% -75% of the vehicle's weight falls on the wheels of the front axle) and, accordingly, the braking forces (see Braking properties);
- the tires of the front driving steered wheels are loaded more, respectively, more prone to wear;
- the drive to the legend of the wheel requires the use of complex units - hinges of equal angular velocities(SHRUS)
- combination of the power unit (engine and gearbox) with final drive complicates access to individual elements.
b) Mid-engine layout - the engine is located between the front and rear axles, for passenger cars is quite rare. It allows you to get the most spacious interior for a given size and a good distribution along the axes.
c) Rear-engined - the engine is located behind the passenger compartment. This arrangement has been extended to small cars. When transmitting torque to the rear wheels, it made it possible to obtain an inexpensive power unit and the distribution of such a load on the axles, in which the rear wheels accounted for about 60% of the weight. This had a positive effect on the cross-country ability of the car, but negatively on its stability and controllability, especially on high speeds. Cars with this layout, at present, are practically not produced.

3. BRAKING PROPERTIES

The ability to prevent accidents is most often associated with intensive braking, so it is necessary that the braking properties of the car ensure its effective deceleration in all traffic situations.

To fulfill this condition, the force developed by the brake mechanism must not exceed the adhesion force with the road, which depends on the weight load on the wheel and the condition pavement. Otherwise, the wheel will lock up (stop rotating) and begin to slide, which can lead (especially when several wheels are blocked) to skid the car and significantly increase the braking distance. To prevent blocking, the forces developed by the brake mechanisms must be proportional to the weight load on the wheel. This is realized through the use of more efficient disc brakes.

Modern cars use an anti-lock braking system (ABS) that adjusts the braking force of each wheel and prevents them from slipping.

In winter and summer, the condition of the road surface is different, so for best implementation braking properties Tires that are appropriate for the season must be used.

4. Traction

Traction properties (traction dynamics) of the car determine its ability to intensively increase the speed. These properties largely determine the driver's confidence when overtaking, driving through intersections. Traction dynamics is especially important for getting out of emergency situations when it is too late to brake and maneuvering is not allowed. difficult conditions, and you can avoid an accident only by being ahead of the events.

As with braking forces, the traction force on the wheel should not be greater than the traction force, otherwise it will begin to slip. Prevents it traction control. When the car accelerates, it slows down the wheel, the rotation speed of which is greater than that of the others, and, if necessary, reduces the power developed by the engine.

5. STABILITY OF THE VEHICLE

Stability - the ability of a car to keep moving along a given trajectory, opposing the forces that cause it to skid and roll over in various road conditions under high speeds.

There are the following types of sustainability:
- transverse during rectilinear movement (course stability). Its violation is manifested in the yaw (change of direction) of the car along the road and can be caused by the action of the lateral force of the wind, different sizes traction or braking forces on the wheels of the left or right side, their slipping or sliding. large play in steering, incorrect wheel alignment, etc .;
- transverse during curvilinear motion.
Its violation leads to skidding or overturning under the action of centrifugal force. An increase in the position of the center of mass of the car especially worsens stability (for example, a large mass of cargo on a removable roof rack);
- longitudinal.
Its violation is manifested in the slipping of the drive wheels when overcoming long icy or snowy slopes and the car sliding back. This is especially true for road trains.

6. HANDLING

Handling is the ability of a car to move in the direction set by the driver.

One of the characteristics of handling is understeer - the ability of a car to change direction when the steering wheel is stationary. Depending on the change in the turning radius under the influence of lateral forces (centrifugal force on a turn, wind force, etc.), understeer can be:
- insufficient - the car increases the turning radius;
- neutral - turning radius does not change;
- excessive - the turning radius is reduced.

Distinguish tire and roll understeer.

Tire steering

Tire steering is related to the property of tires to move at an angle to given direction with side slip (displacement of the contact patch with the road relative to the plane of rotation of the wheel). If you install tires of a different model, the understeer may change and the car is cornering when driving with high speed will behave differently. In addition, the amount of side slip depends on the pressure in the tires, which must correspond to that specified in the vehicle's operating instructions.

Roll Steering

Roll oversteer is due to the fact that when the body tilts (roll), the wheels change their position relative to the road and the car (depending on the type of suspension). For example, if the suspension is double-wishbone, the wheels lean in the direction of the roll, increasing the slip.

7. INFORMATION

Informativeness - the property of the car to provide the necessary information to the driver and other road users. Insufficient information from other vehicles on the road, about the condition of the road surface, etc. often causes accidents. The information content of the car is divided into internal, external and additional.

Internal provides the driver with the opportunity to perceive the information necessary to drive the car.

It depends on the following factors:
- Visibility should allow the driver to receive all the necessary information about the traffic situation in a timely manner and without interference. Faulty or inefficiently operating washers, windshield and heating systems, windshield wipers, lack of regular rear-view mirrors sharply impair visibility under certain road conditions.
- The location of the instrument panel, buttons and control keys, gear lever, etc. should provide the driver with a minimum amount of time to check indications, actions on switches, etc.

External informativeness - providing other road users with information from the car, which is necessary for proper interaction with them. It includes an external light signaling system, a sound signal, dimensions, shape and color of the body. The information content of passenger cars depends on the contrast of their color relative to the road surface. According to statistics, cars painted in black, green, gray and blue are twice as likely to have an accident due to the difficulty of distinguishing them in conditions insufficient visibility and at night. Faulty direction indicators, brake lights, parking lights will not allow other road users to recognize the driver's intentions in time and make the right decision.

Additional information content is a property of a car that allows it to be operated in conditions limited visibility: at night, in fog, etc. It depends on the characteristics of lighting fixtures and other devices (e.g. fog lights), improving the driver's perception of information about the traffic situation.

8. COMFORTABLE

The comfort of the car determines the time during which the driver is able to drive the car without fatigue. An increase in comfort is facilitated by the use of automatic transmission, speed controllers (cruise control), etc. Currently, vehicles are equipped with adaptive cruise control. It not only automatically maintains the speed at a given level, but also, if necessary, reduces it up to a complete stop of the car.

PASSIVE SAFETY

The passive safety of the car must ensure the survival and minimization of the number of injuries to the passengers of the car involved in a traffic accident.

IN last years passive safety of cars has become one of the the most important elements from a manufacturers point of view. Huge amounts of money are inverted into the study of this topic and its development, and not only because companies care about the health of customers, but because safety is a selling lever. Companies love to sell.

I will try to explain a few definitions hidden under the broad definition of "passive safety".

It is divided into external and internal.

External is achieved by eliminating sharp corners, protruding handles, etc. on the outer surface of the body. With this, everything is clear and quite simple.

To level up internal security use a lot of different design solutions:

1. BODY STRUCTURE or "SAFETY GRILLE"

It provides acceptable loads on the human body from a sharp deceleration in an accident and saves the space of the passenger compartment after the deformation of the body.

In a severe accident, there is a risk that the engine and other components can enter the driver's cab. Therefore, the cabin is surrounded by a special "safety grid", which is an absolute protection in similar cases. The same stiffening ribs and bars can be found in the doors of the car (in case of side collisions). This also includes areas of energy repayment.

In a severe accident, there is a sharp and unexpected deceleration to a complete stop of the car. This process causes huge overloads on the bodies of passengers, which can be fatal. It follows from this that it is necessary to find a way to "slow down" the deceleration in order to reduce the load on the human body. One way to solve this problem is to design areas of destruction that dampen the energy of a collision in the front and rear parts of the body. The destruction of the car will be more severe, but the passengers will remain intact (and this is compared to the old "thick-skinned" cars, when the car got off with a "light fright", but the passengers received severe injuries).

2. SEAT BELTS

The belt system, so familiar to us, is undoubtedly the most in an efficient way human protection during an accident. After many years, during which the system remained unchanged, in recent years there have been significant changes that have increased the level of passenger safety. Thus, the belt pretensioner system in the event of an accident attracts the human body to the back of the seat, thereby preventing the body from moving forward or slipping under the belt. The effectiveness of the system is due to the fact that the belt is in a taut position, and not weakened by the use of various clips and clothespins, which practically cancel the action of the pretensioner. Optional element seat belt pretensioner is a restraint system maximum load on the body. When it is triggered, the belt will loosen slightly, thereby reducing the load on the body.

3. INFLATABLE AIRBAGS (airbag)

One of the most common and effective safety systems in modern cars (after seat belts) are airbags. They began to be widely used already in the late 70s, but it was not until a decade later that they really took their rightful place in the safety systems of most manufacturers' cars. They are placed not only in front of the driver, but also in front of the front passenger, as well as from the sides (in the doors, pillars, etc.). Some car models have them forced shutdown due to the fact that people with a sick heart and children may not be able to withstand their false alarm.

4. SEATS WITH HEADRESTS

The role of the head restraint is to prevent sudden movement of the head during an accident. Therefore, you should adjust the height of the head restraint and its position in correct position. Modern head restraints have two degrees of adjustment to prevent injuries to the cervical vertebrae during the “overlapping” movement, which are so characteristic of rear-end collisions.

5. CHILD SAFETY

Today it is no longer necessary to puzzle over the adjustment of the child seat to original belts security. The increasingly common Isofix attachment allows the child safety seat to be attached directly to connection points prepared in advance in the car, without the use of seat belts. It is only necessary to check that the car and the child seat are suitable for Isofix anchorages.

Characteristics of damage to cars and injuries of victims in various types of accidents

During the initial examination of the accident site, it is possible with a certain degree of probability to predict the presence of characteristic injuries in the victims, depending on the type of accident.

Type of accident	Vehicle damage	Injury victims
Head-on collision	Deformation of the front of the vehicle, jamming of doors, violation of the integrity of the glass; displacement of the engine in the cabin	Cervical-vertebral and craniocerebral injuries, injuries of the abdomen, chest, head, lower extremities; stab wounds.
Tangent Collision	Deformation of the adjoining side parts of the vehicle	Injuries to the abdomen, chest, head, fractures of the ribs; cut-stab and lacerated wounds.
side impact	Deformation of the side of the vehicle, violation of the integrity of the glass	Cervical-vertebral and craniocerebral injuries, injuries of the lower extremities, lower leg, pelvis, hips, abdomen, head; rib fractures, cut-stab and lacerated wounds.
rollover	Significant deformation of the hull, roof, glass damage, fuel spill	Cervical-vertebral and craniocerebral injuries, spinal injuries; cut-stab and lacerated wounds.
Hitting	Deformation of the front of the vehicle, damage to the windshield; displacement of the engine in the cabin	Cervical and vertebral and craniocerebral injuries, injuries of the abdomen, chest, head, lower extremities, cut and stab wounds.
Rear kick	Deformation of the rear of the vehicle, fuel spill, damage to the rear window	Chest injury, traumatic brain injury, neck injury.

Vehicle safety is a very important factor that designers and engineers are constantly working on. The extensive introduction of electronics into the design of the car has made it possible to create systems whose task is to prevent an accident. This is done by stabilizing the car in different conditions movement, making adjustments to the operation of a number of nodes and correcting driver errors. There are many such systems on a modern car and they are called one. common name – .

But no matter how well active safety works, very often accidents cannot be avoided. And here the task is already to save the lives of passengers in the car, and reduce the likelihood of serious injuries. These conditions are already provided by the passive safety system.

It is noteworthy that the first devices that increase the safety of a car belong to this system. I mean, it all started with her.

Devices and mechanisms of the system

Now the passive safety system includes an extensive range constructive solutions and devices that increase the safety of car passengers.

It includes:

• Seat belts;
• Pillows and curtains;
• Safe body structure;
• Safety steering column;
• Active headrests;
• Belt tensioners;
• Battery emergency disconnect.

Existing devices that increase safety are constantly being improved, as well as new ones are being created, so this list cannot be considered complete.

Belts

Belts are the first safety features that cars began to be equipped with. Their mission is to prevent inertial motion body when a car collides with an obstacle. Thus, it prevents the driver and passengers from flying out through the windshield, getting injured due to impacts on the steering wheel and front panel. Essentially, the belt keeps people in the seat.

Seat belts differ in the number of attachment points. They are two-, three-, four-, five- and six-point. The higher the number of points, the better the distribution of body movement energy, which reduces the likelihood of injury. But at the same time, a larger number of points makes it difficult to use the belt. Therefore, the most optimal and most common is the three-point option.

Pillows and curtains

Airbags - began to be developed almost simultaneously with belts and at one time were used as a device that replaces belts. Over time it became clear that maximum effect from these devices is achieved only in combination with belts.

The essence of the pillows is this: there are fabric bags hidden under the lining of the steering wheel, front panel, etc. Each of them is connected to special device squib. In the event of a collision, this squib fires, a chemical reaction takes place in it, releasing a large number gas that enters the bag. As a result, the pillow "shoots" towards the body and extinguishes its energy.

Note that the squib with a pillow is only actuating mechanism. The design of this system also includes an electronic unit that sends a signal for operation and shock sensors, on the basis of which the unit works. That is, in the event of an accident, the sensors determine that a collision has occurred and report this to the unit, which activates the squib. The chain seems to be long, but everything works almost instantly - fractions of a second pass between the signal from the sensors and the deployment of the pillows.

In modern cars, several types of such pillows are used:

• Frontal (deployed in front of the driver and front passenger in a head-on collision);
• Lateral (to protect the chest during side impacts);
• Head, they are also curtains (they protect against head injury during side impacts);
• Knees (provide leg protection in frontal collisions);
• Central (prevents the driver and passenger from hitting each other in a side impact);
• In seat belts (reduce the possibility of injury from the belt).

To increase the effectiveness of the pillows, they are constantly being improved, new sensors are installed, auxiliary systems are used for their operation, for example, emergency lowering of windows.

Body

Safe body design began to be applied not so long ago. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that some of its parts have a programmable deformation zone. That is, upon impact, part of the energy is extinguished due to the crushing of these parts. Such zones are made both in the front of the car and in the back.

At the same time, to increase the safety of passengers, the cabin is made of durable and deformation-resistant materials. It turns out that in the event of a collision, the front or rear of the car is crushed by an “accordion”, but the cabin remains intact, although in a collision at high speeds, the cabin still gets damaged.

Used on cars safe design body, in which the programmable deformation not only dampens the impact energy, it also ensures that the engine is pulled down to exclude the possibility of its entry into the passenger compartment.

Steering column

Safety steering column prevents the driver from hitting the steering wheel. In a frontal impact, the engine shifts back and pushes. Prior to the use of a safety column, this situation led to the fact that the steering wheel "came out" towards the driver. But this does not happen with the safety design. The column shaft consists of several parts, which allows it to "break". Thanks to this, even when the steering gear is shifted, the steering wheel remains in place.

Headrests

Active head restraints reduce the risk of injury to the cervical vertebrae in a rear-end collision. When hit in the rear of the car, the body holds the back of the seat, but the head receives a strong inertial acceleration back, which leads to damage to the neck. Active headrests automatically rise up during such an impact, fixing the head and preventing it from leaning back.

Pretensioners

Pretensioners are an addition to belts. Most belts are inertial, which allows you to fix the body of any build without any length adjustments. But the inertial mechanism works with a delay, therefore, with a frontal impact, the human body still moves forward somewhat, which threatens to injure the belt itself. The task of the pretensioners is to eliminate the disadvantage of the inertial mechanism. In the event of a collision, the pretensioner, by means of a squib or electric drive, tightens the belt as much as possible, preventing movement of the body.

Battery emergency disconnect

Provides disconnection of the battery from the on-board network in case of an accident. This eliminates the possibility of spark formation and fuel ignition from it. The breaker is usually used in cars in which the battery is located in the passenger compartment or luggage compartment. Its design also uses a squib, although there are also relay devices.

New developments

The main components that the passive safety system includes are listed above. But as noted, this system is constantly being improved.

One of the options for improving safety was a tank falling off in a collision, but this technology did not take root on cars.

TO current trends passive safety include external airbags and bonnet squibs, which are aimed at reducing injury to pedestrians in a collision with a car.

Also recently, car companies have become concerned about the safety of rear passengers, as the risk of injury for them has already become higher than those who have taken the front seats. Airbags that deploy from the ceiling or front seat back are tested.

The risk of injury in a crash will always be present, especially in high-speed collisions, but advanced technology is reducing it to an ever-lower level.

According to statistics, about 80-85% of all road traffic accidents occur in cars. That is why automakers, when developing a car design, pay maximum attention to its safety - after all, the overall safety of traffic on the roads directly depends on the safety of a single car. It is necessary to provide for the whole range of potentially dangerous situations that a car can theoretically get into, and they depend on many different factors.

Modern ones provide for both active and passive vehicle safety and include whole line devices: car airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), traction control and anti-skid systems and many other means. The reliability of the car design will help the driver not get into trouble and protect his life and the lives of passengers in the difficult conditions of modern roads.

Active and passive vehicle safety

In general, vehicle safety is divided into active and passive. What do these terms mean? Active safety includes all those properties of the car design, with the help of which it prevents and / or reduces itself. Thanks to such properties, the driver can change - in other words, the car will not become uncontrollable in an emergency.

The rational design of the machine is the key to its active safety. Here, the so-called "anatomical" seats, which repeat the shape of the human body, the heating of the windshield and rear-view mirrors to prevent them from freezing, windshield wipers on the headlights, and sun visors play an important role here. In addition, various modern systems contribute to active safety - anti-lock systems that control the speed of the car as a whole and the operation of its individual mechanisms, signaling malfunctions, etc.

By the way, body color is also of great importance for the active safety of the car. The safest in this regard are the shades of the warm spectrum - yellow, orange, red - as well as White color body.

Increasing the visibility of the car at night is also achieved in other ways - for example, special reflective paint is applied to license plates and bumpers. Also, in order to increase active safety, a well-thought-out arrangement of instruments on the dashboard and quality review from the driver's seat. It should be remembered that, according to road statistics, in case of accidents, steering, doors, windshield and dashboard.

In the event that an accident does occur, the leading role in the situation passes to passive safety techniques.

The concept of passive safety includes such features of the vehicle design that help to reduce the severity of an accident if one occurs. Passive safety manifests itself when the driver is still unable to change the nature of the movement of the car to prevent an accident, despite the active safety measures taken.

Passive safety, like active safety, depends on many design nuances. This includes, for example, the bumper device, the presence of arches, belts and airbags, the level of cabin rigidity and other conditions.

The front and rear of the vehicle are generally less robust than the middle - this is also done for passive safety reasons. The middle part, where people are placed, is usually protected by a more rigid frame, while the front and rear cushion the impact and thereby reduce the inertial load. For the same reasons, cross members and spars are usually weakened - they are made of brittle metals that collapse or deform upon impact, taking on its main energy and thus softening it.

By the way, it is precisely to increase the indicators of passive safety that the engine of the car is usually mounted on a linkage suspension - this design serves to avoid moving the engine into the passenger compartment upon impact. Thanks to the suspension, the motor falls down, under the floor of the body.

Rigid steering wheel also poses a danger to the driver, especially in a head-on collision. That is why the steering hubs are made of large diameter and covered with a special elastic shell - soft pads and bellows partially absorb the impact energy.

Seat belts remain one of the most effective and uncomplicated safety features at a low cost. The installation of these belts is mandatory in accordance with the laws of many countries (including Russian Federation). Equally widespread are airbags - another simple tool that is designed to limit the sudden movement of people in the cabin at the time of impact. The airbags of the car only work directly upon impact, protecting people's heads and upper parts of the body from damage. The disadvantages of airbags include a fairly loud sound in the process of filling them with gas - this noise can even damage the eardrums. In addition, airbags do not adequately protect people in a rollover or side impact. That is why the search for ways to improve them is constantly ongoing - for example, experiments are being made to replace airbags with so-called safety nets (which should also limit the sudden movement of a person in the cabin during an accident) - and other similar means.

As another simple and effective anti-traumatic means in case of an accident, one can also name a reliable seat fastening - ideally, it should withstand multiple overloads (up to 20g).

In a rear collision, the passenger's neck is protected from serious injury by the seat head restraints. In the event of an accident, the driver's legs are protected from damage by a safety pedal assembly - in such an assembly, in the event of a collision, the pedals are separated from their mounts, softening the hard blow.

In addition to the above precautions, modern cars are equipped with safety glass, which, when broken, crumbles into non-sharp fragments and triplex.

The overall passive safety of the vehicle also depends on the size of the car and the integrity of its frame. during a collision, they should not change their shape - the impact energy is absorbed by other parts. To test all these properties, before going into production, each car is subjected to special checks called crash tests.

So, the passive safety system of the car in its complete set significantly increases the chance of survival for the driver and passengers in the event of an accident and helps them avoid serious injury.

Modern active safety systems

The development of the auto industry has recently given motorists many new systems that significantly increase useful qualities active vehicle safety.

Particularly common in this list is the ABS system - anti-lock braking system. It helps to prevent accidental locking of the wheels and thus to avoid loss of control of the machine, as well as its slipping. Thanks to the ABS system, the braking distances, which allows you to maintain control over the movement of the machine when emergency braking. In other words, in the presence of ABS, the driver has the opportunity to perform the necessary maneuvers in the process of braking. The electronic unit anti-lock braking system through the hydraulic modulator affects the braking system of the machine, based on the analysis of signals from the wheel rotation sensors.

Most often, thanks to intensive braking, the driver can prevent an accident - therefore, any car needs a properly functioning braking system in general, and ABS in particular. The machine must effectively slow down in all situations, thereby reducing the risk of danger to the driver, passengers in the cabin, bystanders and other vehicles.

Of course, the active safety of the vehicle is significantly increased if it is equipped with ABS. By the way, in addition to cars themselves, this system is also equipped with trailers, motorcycles and even wheeled chassis of aircraft! The latest generations of ABS are often also equipped with traction control, electronic stability control and an auxiliary system for emergency braking.

APS, Anti-Slip Control (ASR, Antriebs-Schlupf-Regelung), also called traction control, serves to eliminate dangerous loss of traction by controlling the slip of the machine's drive wheels. Particularly appreciate beneficial features APS is possible when driving on slippery and / or wet roads, as well as in other conditions where there is insufficient grip. Anti-slip system is directly connected to the ABS, due to which it receives all the necessary information about the speed of rotation of the driving and driven wheels of the car.

SKU, system exchange rate stability, also called electronic stability control, is also an active safety system in a car. Her work helps prevent the car from skidding. This effect is achieved due to the fact that the computer controls the torque of the wheel (or several wheels). The stability control system serves to stabilize the movement of the vehicle in the most dangerous situations– for example, when the possibility of losing control of the car becomes dangerously high, or even when control has already been lost. That is why electronic control Sustainability is considered one of the most effective mechanisms for active vehicle safety.

RTS, the electronic brake force distribution is also a logical complement to the ABS system. This system distributes the braking force between the wheels so that the driver is able to control the vehicle at all times, and not just during emergency braking. The RTS helps to maintain the stability of the car when braking by equally distributing the braking force between all its wheels, analyzing their position and dosing the braking force in the most effective way. In addition, the brake force distributor significantly reduces the risk of skidding or skidding during braking - especially when cornering and on mixed road surfaces.

EBD, electronic differential lock, is also associated with the ABS system and plays an important role in ensuring the active safety of the car as a whole. As you know, the differential transmits torque from the gearbox to the drive wheels and works correctly if these wheels are firmly attached to the road. However, there are situations when one of the wheels may be on ice or in the air - then it will rotate, and the other wheel, standing firmly on the surface, will lose its rotational force. That's when the EBD is connected, thanks to the work by which the differential is blocked, and the torque is transmitted to all its consumers, incl. and fixed drive wheel. That is, the electronic differential lock slows down the slipping wheel until its rotational speed is equal to the non-spinning one. The EBD especially affects the safety of the car during sudden acceleration and uphill movement. It also significantly increases the level of traffic safety in difficult weather conditions even when reversing. However, it should be remembered that the EBD does not work when cornering.

APS, acoustic parking system, refers to auxiliary active safety systems of the vehicle. It is also known by such names as parking sensors, acoustic parking system, PDC (Parking distance control), ultrasonic parking sensor ... There are many terms for defining APS, but this device serves one main purpose - to control the distance between the car and obstacles during parking. With the help of ultrasonic sensors, the parking sensors are able to measure the distance from the car to nearby objects. As these objects approach the vehicle, the nature of the acoustic signals of the APS changes, and the display shows information about the distance remaining to the obstacle.

ACC, adaptive cruise control- This is a device that also belongs to the auxiliary active safety systems of the car. Thanks to the operation of the cruise control, supported constant speed cars. In this case, the speed is automatically reduced in case of an increase, and, accordingly, increases in case of a decrease.

By the way, the well-known parking hand brake(colloquially - a handbrake) is also one of the auxiliary devices for the active safety of the vehicle. The good old handbrake keeps the car stationary relative to the support surface, holding it on slopes and helping to slow down in parking lots.

Hill-descent assistance systems, in turn, also significantly increase the vehicle's active safety performance.

Progress for life

Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to completely avoid road traffic accidents. However, every year hundreds and thousands of cars leave the assembly lines, more and more advanced in terms of active and passive safety. New generations of machines, in comparison with the previous ones, are equipped with much more advanced safety systems, which can significantly reduce the risk of an accident and minimize its consequences in cases where an accident cannot be avoided.

Video - active systems security

Video - passive car safety

Conclusion!

Undoubtedly, the most important determining factor in the active and passive safety of a car is the reliability of all its vital important systems, . The most serious requirements are placed on the reliability of those elements of the machine that allow it to carry out various maneuvers. Such devices include brake and steering systems, transmission, suspension, engine, etc. To improve the uptime of all systems modern cars, every year more and more new technologies are applied, previously unused materials are used and the design of cars of all brands is being improved.

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