HISTORY101 - Evolution of Car Safety
We are approaching a huge milestone in automobile history, the introduction and predicted wide use of driverless motor vehicles. It seems like this might be a good time to review the history of car safety to see how far we’ve come, and perhaps how far we have to go. After a short introduction, I will review the history of car safety improvements in timeline format, decade by decade since the early 1900s. Then, I will review the safety features in today’s modern vehicles, evaluate the success of improved automobile safety over the years, and finally talk about future additional safety possibilities. I will list my sources at the end. Introduction Automobiles have been in development since 1769, when Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugno developed the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation. More than a century later, in 1872, American George Brayton invented the first commercial liquid-fueled internal combustion engine. In 1886, German automobile engi