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None of us get into our vehicles expecting to be in an accident. We have our destination in sight, hop in our car and begin our journey. Then it happens. It may not be your fault, but an accident occurs. In a perfect world, following the rules of the road should mean that you are not at risk for a collision, but this is a risk that we all face every time we get in a car and hit the road. Luckily for us, automotive safety has taken tremendous strides since the very first automobile hit the streets over 130 years ago.
1856 Automobile Patent[/caption]
1885 Seat Belt Patent[/caption]
Nils Bohlin of VW; Inventor of 3-Point Seat Belt[/caption]
Vintage Ford Airbag Ad[/caption]
Karl Benz’s Gasoline Powered Automobile
There are road transportation inventions that predate the 1856 design by German inventor Karl Benz, but when most people think about the first invention that started the path to the vehicles we have today, this invention is where they begin. Benz’s “vehicle powered by a gas engine” looked similar to a tricycle and topped out at a speed of 16 MPH. This may seem like a very slow trip, but it was considerably faster than the average speed of 4 MPH achieved by a horse-drawn carriage. While Benz’s first automobile came without seatbelts, a windshield or any other safety features, the risk for injury did not present itself until 1891. [caption id="attachment_68842" align="aligncenter" width="890"] 1856 Automobile Patent[/caption]
First Automobile Accident
Obviously, Benz’s invention was a starting point for the automotive industry, but it would be years before automobiles became commonplace. With very few vehicles on the road, the world managed to go 35 years from the first automobile invention to the first automobile accident. Inventors all over the world were focusing their skills and creativity towards building a better car, along with James William Lambert, an automotive inventor in Ohio. In 1891, Lambert would make history by being involved in the World’s first car accident. There were no safety features in place to protect Lambert and his passenger, but luckily they both walked away from their collision with a hitching post with only very minor injuries.Baby Steps towards a Safer Driving Experience
It is tough to imagine getting behind the wheel of a car that doesn’t have headlights, or a windshield, much less seat belts, but this was the reality for the world’s first drivers. The first safety feature integrated into vehicles was electric headlights in 1889, 33 years after the invention of the first gas-powered car. Edward J. Claghorn obtained the first safety feature patent for his invention of seat belts in 1885; unfortunately, this safety feature was not offered in American made cars until 1950 and did not become a legal requirement until 1984. [caption id="attachment_68844" align="aligncenter" width="380"] 1885 Seat Belt Patent[/caption]
20th Century Safety Boom
As automobiles became more commonplace, with an American dream of “a car in every driveway and a chicken in every pot,” the risks of climbing into a car started to increase drastically each year. According to historical data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 1899 there were 26 motor vehicle deaths in America. This number is meager compared to the 37,461 reported motor vehicle casualties in 2016 but is a drastic increase from the original car wreck that occurred just eight years earlier. Around the 1950’s safety experts, automotive manufacturers, and even college students began to look at automotive safety as something that needed to be addressed with the design of the vehicle, and not something that could just be ignored as driver error. This era brought on many new safety features that would eventually become standard, and a time where safety features became the focus of many automotive advertising themes. [caption id="attachment_68850" align="aligncenter" width="421"] Nils Bohlin of VW; Inventor of 3-Point Seat Belt[/caption]
Innovations of Yesterday; Standard Today
Most of us can’t picture sliding into a car that doesn’t have seatbelts, but there are other safety features today that we never see and hardly ever think about. In 1953 a patent for “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles” was issued. It would be nearly 20 years before this patent became a reality for American drivers when Ford & General Motors began to sell airbag-equipped vehicles. Early airbag systems had many issues, some that caused more harm than good, but after ironing out some kinks, a law was passed in 1998 requiring airbags to be in all cars and trucks sold in the United States. A year later lawmakers kicked up this requirement to have all new vehicles include Dual Airbags, to protect both the driver and passenger. [caption id="attachment_68855" align="aligncenter" width="441"] Vintage Ford Airbag Ad[/caption]
