18th century–19th century Automotive safety may have become an issue almost from the beginning of mechanised road vehicle development. The second steam-powered "Fardier" (artillery tractor), created by
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1771, is reported by some to have crashed into a wall during its demonstration run. However, according to Georges Ageon, the earliest mention of this occurrence dates from 1801 and it does not feature in contemporary accounts. One of the earliest recorded car-related fatalities was
Mary Ward, on August 31, 1869, in
Parsonstown, Ireland.
1920s In 1922, the
Duesenburg Model A became the first car to have four-wheel hydraulic brakes.
1930s In 1930, safety glass became standard on all
Ford cars. In the 1930s, plastic surgeon
Claire L. Straith and physician C. J. Strickland advocated the use of
seat belts and padded
dashboards. Strickland founded the Automobile Safety League of America. In 1934,
GM performed the first barrier
crash test. In 1936, the Hudson Terraplane came with the first back-up brake system. Should the hydraulic brakes fail, the brake pedal would activate a set of mechanical brakes for the back wheels. In 1937,
Chrysler,
Plymouth,
DeSoto, and
Dodge added such items as a flat, smooth dash with recessed controls, rounded door handles, a windshield wiper control made of rubber, and the back of the front seat heavily padded to provide protection for rear passengers.
1940s In 1942,
Hugh DeHaven published the classic
Mechanical analysis of survival in falls from heights of fifty to one hundred and fifty feet. In 1947, the American
Tucker was built with the world's first padded dashboard. It also came with middle headlight that turned with the steering wheel, a front steel bulkhead, and a front safety chamber. In 1949, SAAB incorporated aircraft safety thinking into automobiles making the
Saab 92 the first production SAAB car with a safety cage. Also in 1949, the
Chrysler Imperial Crown was the first car to come with standard disc brakes.
1950s In 1955, a
USAF surgeon who advised the
US Surgeon General wrote an article on how to make cars safer for those riding in it. Aside from the usual safety features, such as seat belts and padded dashboards, bumper shocks were introduced. In 1956, Ford tried unsuccessfully to interest Americans in purchasing safer cars with their
Lifeguard safety package. (Its attempt nevertheless earns Ford
Motor Trends "Car of the Year" award for 1956.) In 1958, the
United Nations established the
World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, an international standards body advancing auto safety. Many of the most life saving safety innovations, like seat belts and
roll cage construction were brought to market under its auspices. That same year,
Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented and patented the three-point lap and shoulder
seat belt, which became standard equipment on all Volvo cars in 1959. Over the next several decades, three-point safety belts were gradually mandated in all vehicles by regulators throughout the industrialised world. In 1959, American Motors Corporation offered the first optional head rests for the front seat. Also in 1959, the
Cadillac Cyclone concept by
Harley Earl had "a
radar-based crash-avoidance system" located on the nose cones of the vehicle that would make audible and visual signals to the driver if there were obstacles in the vehicle's path.
1960s Effective on new passenger cars sold in the United States after January 1, 1964. front outboard lap belts were required. On September 9, 1966, the
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act became law in the U.S., the first mandatory federal safety standards for motor vehicles. Effective in 1966, US-market passenger cars were required to be equipped with padded instrument panels, front and rear outboard lap belts, and white reverse (backup) lamps. In 1966, the U.S. established the
United States Department of Transportation (DOT) with automobile safety as one of its purposes. The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was created as an independent organization on April 1, 1967, but was reliant on the DOT for administration and funding. However, in 1975 the organization was made completely independent by the
Independent Safety Board Act (in
P.L. 93-633;
49 U.S.C. 1901). In 1967, equipment specifications by such major fleet purchasers as the City and County of Los Angeles, California, encouraged the voluntary installation in most new cars sold in the US of safety devices, systems, and design features including: • Elimination of protruding knobs and controls in passenger compartment • Additional padding on the instrument panel and other interior surfaces • Mounting points for front outboard shoulder belts • Four-way hazard flashers • A uniform P-R-N-D-L gear sequence for
automatic transmission gear selectors • Dual-circuit brake hydraulic systems In 1968, the precursor agency to the US
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's first
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards took effect. These required shoulder belts for left and right front-seat vehicle occupants,
side marker lights, collapsible steering columns, and other safety features. 1969 saw the addition of
head restraints for front outboard passengers, addressing the problem of
whiplash in rear-end collisions. These safety requirements did not apply to vehicles classified as "commercial," such as light-duty pickup trucks. Thus, manufacturers did not always include such hardware in these vehicles, even though many did passenger-car duty. Volvo developed the first rear-facing child seat in 1964 and introduced its own booster seat in 1978.
1970s In 1974, GM offered driver and passenger airbags as optional equipment on large Cadillacs, Buicks, and Oldsmobiles. In 1976, the crash test dummy
Hybrid III was introduced to assess the impacts of car collisions. It represented the 50th percentile male standing at approximately 5' 9" tall and weighing 78 kg (171 lbs). In 1979, NHTSA began crash-testing popular cars and publishing the results, to inform consumers and encourage manufacturers to improve the safety of their vehicles. Initially, the US NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) crash tests examined compliance with the occupant-protection provisions of
FMVSS 208. Over the subsequent years, this NHTSA program was gradually expanded in scope.
1980s In 1984, New York State passed the first U.S. law requiring seat belt use in passenger cars.
Seat belt laws have since been adopted by 49 states (
New Hampshire has not). NHTSA estimates the resulting increased seat belt use saves 10,000 per year in the United States. In 1986, the
central 3rd brake light was mandated in North America with most of the world following with similar standards in
automotive lighting. Airbags were first installed in production vehicles in the 1980s as standard equipment instead of an option as was done in the mid-1970s (such as the Oldsmobile Toronado in 1974). In 1981, airbags were an available option on the
Mercedes-Benz W126 (S-Class). In 1987, the
Porsche 944 Turbo became the first car to have driver and passenger airbags as standard equipment, and airbags were offered as an available option on the 944 and 944S. The first airbag was also installed in a Japanese car, the
Honda Legend, in 1987. In 1988, Chrysler was the first United States company to install standard driver's side air bags, in six of its passenger models. In 1989, Chrysler became the first U.S. auto manufacturer to install driver-side air bags in all its domestic-built automobiles.
1990s In 1995, the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) began frontal offset crash tests. Also in the same year, Volvo introduced the world's first car with side airbags: the 850. In 1996, the
European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) was established to test new vehicles' safety performance and publish the results for vehicle shoppers' information. The NHTSA crash tests are presently operated and published as the U.S. branch of the international NCAP programme.
2000s In 2000, the NHTSA released a regulation making trunk releases mandatory for new cars by September of the following year due, in part, to the lobbying efforts of
Janette Fennell. In 2003, the IIHS began conducting side impact crash tests. In 2004, NHTSA released new tests designed to test the rollover risk of new cars and
SUVs. Only the
Mazda RX-8 got a 5-star rating. Also in 2003, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) introduced a female counterpart crash test dummy of
Hybrid III. This dummy was just a scaled-down version of the original Hybrid III, only representing the smallest 5% of women based on mid-1970s standards. In 2009,
Citroën became the first manufacturer to feature "Snowmotion", an Intelligent Anti Skid system developed in conjunction with Bosch, which gives drivers a level of control in extreme ice or snow conditions similar to a 4x4. In 2009, NHTSA upgraded its roof-crush standard for vehicles weighing 6000 pounds or less. The new standard increased the crush load requirement from 1.5 to 3 times the vehicle's curb weight.
2010s From 2011, new cars should have brake assist system in the EU, according to The Pedestrian Protection Regulation (EC) 78/2009. Starting in 2012, all cars under 10,000 lbs. sold in the US are required to have
Electronic Stability Control. In 2014, ESP (Electronic Stability Program) and TPMS became mandatory in the European Union, with also the driver seat belt reminder and the ISOFIX system, under General Safety Regulation (EC) No 661/2009. In 2015, recognizing that safer roads are a shared responsibility, Together for Safer Roads (TSR) was formally launched to align the private sector's road safety efforts with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety. In 2018,
eCall became mandatory in the EU, and
reverse camera in the US. In 2019, the EU legislated to revise the General Safety Regulation (GSR), the revision includes the following automotive safety features: •
Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) •
Drowsiness Alerts (DDR-AW) • Distraction Alerts •
Event Data Recorders (EDR) •
Advanced Emergency Braking •
Alcohol Interlock Installation Facilitation (ALC) •
Tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) • Emergency Stop Signals (ESS) •
Lane Departure Warning Systems •
Reversing Detection (REV) • Safety-belt Warning Systems covering all the seats in a vehicle • Vehicle Master Control Switches •
Driver Availability Monitoring Systems In addition, a number of regulatory changes have been made in the update to the GSR in relation to vehicle design, in which the following have been mandated: • Enlargement of Head Impact Zones. • Reduction of
blind spots for buses, vans and HGVs. • Improved easy access, for people with low levels of mobility, on buses which have a capacity over 22 persons, and which allow standing. • Regulation in relation to
frontal protection systems. • Previously vans,
SUVs and
MPVs were exempted from regulations pertaining to height and vehicle characteristics, these exemptions have been revised. ==Safety trends==