Physics.edu

 

1885 (February 10th)- Edward J. Claghorn was granted the first patent to a seatbelt

 

Early 1900’s- Volvo introduces a side impact protection system and a side crumple zone

 

1928- Karl Wessen from Germany was granted a patent for braking force regulator

 

1929- Anti Lock Braking system first developed for aircraft use

 

1941- Anti-lock regulator was tested and was only successful in a few elements

 

1951- First passenger car safety cabin was patented

 

1952- Airbags were patented

 

Mid 1950’s- Patent was given to Mercedes Benz for a crumple zone

 

1958- Volvo introduces the seatbelt

 

1959- Congress passed legislation requiring all automobiles to comply with certain safety standards.

 

1960- Volvo introduces a padded dashboard, one of the first stepping stones to developing an airbag

 

1964- Japan starts developing an airbag safety net system

 

1967- All cars must be fitted with front seat seatbelts.

 

1968- President Lyndon Johnson signed two bills which stated that seatbelts were required in all passenger vehicles starting from January 1 1968

 

1970 (December 12)- Mercedes Benz introduces the first generation ABS into a passenger car, along with the company TELDIX

 

1978- Mercedes Benz and Bosch introduce a second generation of ABS

 

1981- ABS was offered for compressed air brakes (Mercedes Benz and Wabco)

 

1984- Mercedes Benz made ABS a standard feature

 

1986- High level third brake light is introduced by Volvo

 

1995- George Platzer’s method was made known and a patent was given to him for the BSM.

 

1996- European NCAP is established, designed to rate cars and their levels of safety

 

2005- Pop up bonnets are designed to reduce pedestrian injuries

 

2007- Volvo S80 sedan was the first car to have blind spot monitoring system (BSM). The BSM produce a visible alert when a car entered the blind spot while the driver was switching lanes

 

2009 (September 10)- Good Morning America and World News showed a crash test from the U.S. Institute of Highway Safety, demonstrating the effectiveness of car safety design over the1950’s