Vehicle Crashes and Safety Features

Ever since the invention of cars, life has become more convenient and travelling more efficient.
However, due to its speed and technicalities, safety concerns have also been raised and safety
measures tested and enforced over the past century. These concerns are still relevant in
modern day vehicles as approximately 1.3 million people die from road traffic crashes every
year (World Health Organisation). An additional 20 to 50 million more people suffer from
non-fatal injuries due to road traffic crashes (“Road Safety Facts”), which often result in
long-term disabilities. In addition, cars are also becoming increasingly common and widely
produced due to the growing population and economy, further emphasising its safety concerns.

In order to propose solutions for this problem, we must first understand Newton’s three laws of
motion and what happens in car crash accidents. Newton’s first law, also called the Law of
Inertia, explains the concept of inertia, where an object in motion will stay in motion and an
object at rest will stay at rest unless an unbalanced force acts upon that object. Inertia is an
object’s resistance to changes made to its velocity. Newton’s second law states that the
acceleration of an object is determined by its mass and the force exerted on it. This is
expressed through the equation 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎, where 𝐹 =net force, 𝑚 =mass and 𝑎 =acceleration.
This means that the net force exerted on an object increases as the mass of the object or its
acceleration increases. For example, a 2 kg trolley has an acceleration of 15 m/s2 so it has a net
2
force of 30 N (2 𝑘𝑔 × 15𝑚/𝑠 = 30 𝑁). Newton’s third and final law of motion states that when
one object exerts force on another, there is an equal and opposing force exerted on said object
by the second. When a vehicle crashes, and comes to a sudden stop, passengers not wearing
seat belts will continue moving at the same velocity or accelerating at the same rate as the car
was travelling at before it crashed. This is because passengers are acted upon by Newton’s first
law separately from the car. Through Newton’s second law, the passengers will continue being
acted upon by the force calculated using the equation 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 in the same direction as they
were moving in before. Finally, the force acting upon the passengers will be reflected upon
themselves as per Newton’s third law of motion when they collide with another object and stop
moving as the forces are now balanced. Thus, the passenger will suffer injuries with the severity
depending on the amount of force experienced by the passenger (from the object they collided
with).
 Figure 1 (Student-of-DIY)

In order to prevent passengers from being ejected from their seat as per the Law of Inertia, seat
belts were invented to help restrain the passengers in the vehicle by attaching their body mass
to the car seat (Student-of-DIY). Most seat belts are attached to the car using a three-point
system on either side of the passengers’ seat and across the body attached to the ceiling
(Figure 1). When the seat belt is pulled from the ceiling suddenly like in an accident on collision,
the seat belt will lock in place so that it can’t be extended any further (“Newton's Laws and Car
Safety”). This feature is also common in other vehicles such as airplanes, trucks and buses,
albeit attached slightly differently than the three-point system. Compared to unrestrained
passengers with a fatality rate of 55%, restrained passengers have a fatality rate of 45%
(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Seat belts also decrease the chance of injury
by collision with objects in front of the passenger even when there is no accident but the car is
braked manually very abruptly.
Although seat belts are considered the first line of defense in a car accident, the use of seat
belts also raises other safety risks such as the seat belt syndrome. Seat belt syndrome is “a
group of common injury profiles associated with the use of seatbelts” (Huecker and Chapman).
This can happen when the passenger is restrained in an accident, causing the seat belt to pull
against the chest, abdominal and the neck. The possible symptoms include abrasions or bruises
on the surface, common internal injuries include bowel and mesenteric, and lumbar spine
fractures (Huecker and Chapman). Organ injuries such as to the pancreas, kidneys and other
visceral organs can occur (Huecker and Chapman). In addition, seat belts are designed for an
average adult, therefore children tend to suffer more of the safety risks that come with seat
belts. The most common cause for pediatric SCI (acute spinal cord injury) is motor vehicle
crashes, with approximately 40% (Achildi, Olga E., et al.).

Despite the safety risks that come with wearing seat belts, it reduces the overall risk of fatal
injuries in car accidents. Even coupled with air bags, seat belts still provide the most protection
against serious injury with an estimated 30% to 35% (“How Much Safety Is Too Much?”), making
it one the most important safety features of a car. Not only do seat belts help prevent fatal
injuries in a car accident, they are also more economically efficient as less severe injuries
require lower medical costs. For every 1% increase in seat belt usage, $14 million could be
saved annually for the Kansas state in the US (Dissanayake). Like air bags, seat belts are a
one-time use only, because the ignition of the gas charge in order to lock the seat belt in place
can only be activated once (“Seatbelts: a Guide to Safely Resetting and Recalibrating”).
However, seat belt replacement costs between $150 and $200 unlike air bags, which cost
around $400 to $500 to the price of the car (“How Much Safety Is Too Much?”). The safety
features of cars, especially and specifically seat belts, can help countries be more economically
efficient in the long term while reducing the risk of death in a car crash, making it one of the
most valuable safety features to have in a car.
 Works cited

Achildi, Olga E., et al. “Lapbelt Injuries and the Seatbelt Syndrome in Pediatric Spinal Cord
Injury.” The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, vol. 30, no. sup1, 2007,
doi:10.1080/10790268.2007.11753964.

Dissanayake, Sunanda. “Estimating Economic Benefits Due to Increased Seat Belt Use: A Case
Study.” TRID, 9 Nov. 2009, trid.trb.org/view/899992.

Huecker, Martin R., and Jennifer Chapman. “Seat Belt Injuries.” National Center for
Biotechnology, StatPearls Publishing LLC, 5 Sept. 2021,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470262/.

“How Much Safety Is Too Much? All That High-Tech Protection Is Great, but It's Also Getting
Expensive.” WardsAuto, 1 Feb. 1995,
www.wardsauto.com/news-analysis/how-much-safety-too-much-all-high-tech-protection-
great-its-also-getting-expensive.

“Newton's Laws and Car Safety - Newton's Laws - National 5 Physics Revision - BBC Bitesize.”
BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgn82hv/revision/11.

“Road Safety Facts.” Association for Safe International Road Travel, 25 Aug. 2021,
www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/.

“Road Traffic Injuries.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 21 June 2021,
www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries.

“Seatbelts: a Guide to Safely Resetting and Recalibrating.” AsTech®, 9 June 2017,

astech.com/news/seatbelts-a-guide-to-safely-resetting-and-recalibrating/.

Student-of-DIY. “Diagram of Seat Belt Attached Using a Three-Point System.” Instructables,

content.instructables.com/ORIG/FZB/BZCC/IMYUF9H0/FZBBZCCIMYUF9H0.jpg?auto=
 webp&frame=1&width=1024&height=1024&fit=bounds&md=61f
d079ed74251ec526a830cc6c6d216. Accessed 2 Nov. 2021.

Student-of-DIY. “The Physics of Car Safety.” Instructables, Instructables, 29 Sept. 2017,

www.instructables.com/The-Physics-of-Car-Safety/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2021.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes. US
Department of Transportation, Aug. 2010, p. 4. Zotero,
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811363.