Safety

A team of researchers from Purdue University's Center for Systems Integrity created a high-tech "speed bump" that can detect damage to Army vehicles.

Unlike the speed-deterring cement humps in the road that drivers typically encounter, Purdue's invention is a rubber-jacketed "diagnostic cleat" that contains sensors. The sensors measure vibrations created by a vehicle as it moves over the cleat, and signal-processing software interprets the data to check for damage to the tires, wheel bearings, and suspension components.

Researchers conducted tests with high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, or HMMWVs, commonly known as Humvees and found the … Read more

How dangerous is your commute? The answer may depend on the weather.

In addition to speed traps and red light cameras, Njection.com is now offering people the option to view the traffic accident history of a route based on past weather conditions using the Njection Mobile iPhone application.

Njection took five years of accident data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and merged it with global weather conditions from WeatherBug.com. Using Microsoft Virtual Earth, this mashup enables people to see what accidents have occurred in a particular area, and if they want, filter the data to show … Read more

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) created a roof strength rating system to help customers assess a vehicle's safeness. Roof strength is critical to keeping passengers alive and in the car in the event of a rollover accident, according to a press release issued by the IIHS. The stronger the roof, the less likely it will deform.

More than 10,000 people die in rollover-related accidents. While any vehicle can roll in a crash, SUVs are three times as likely to roll in an accident than a passenger car.

To earn a good rating, the vehicle must have … Read more

Toyota has announced that it has developed the world's first rear-seat center airbag.

In the event of a side-on collision, this new airbag will deploy from a fixed rear-seat console to prevent injury from passengers colliding with each other or the console itself. We're assuming that the inclusion of this center airbag system eliminates the rear-center seating position.

We're all for vehicles protecting their passengers in the event of a crash, but between your standard front airbags, side-curtain airbags, knee airbags, rear-curtain airbags, and now rear-center airbags, how long will it be before the vehicle just fills … Read more

In Aptera Motor's manufacturing facility, visitors are given a sledgehammer and encouraged to swing away at the company's electric vehicle prototype. Dent it, and you can win $100.

This challenge, of course, will not apply to accidents on the streets when the three-wheeled aerodynamic vehicle hits California's congested highways in October.

The hands-on exercise demonstrates the vehicle's inherent safety, and is an attempt to overcome the perception that a small, lightweight, three-wheeled vehicle isn't as safe as a conventional gas-fueled car. … Read more

Large trucks, vans, and SUVs often have a proportionately large rear blind spot making backing up a tricky and, at times, dangerous ordeal. Automotive manufacturers have begun to offer backup cameras on their larger vehicles as optional or standard features. But what about owners of older vehicles that weren't offered with factory installed rearview cameras?

Offering a simple, four-wire installation on most vehicles, the Audiovox ACA250 wireless backup camera can be installed by a person comfortable with simple hand tools in an afternoon. For your labors, the camera system greatly increases the low-speed safety of your vehicle by giving … Read more

Texas Custom Armoring issued a promotional video on how it bulletproofs vehicles for customers around the world. TCA does brisk business with more than 30 countries and countless heads of states, routinely armoring vehicles for the world's elite in war-torn countries. The cost for armoring a vehicle ranges from approximately $80k to the-sky's-the-limit, depending on vehicle size and features. Its customizations can include attack deterance (think: electric shock door handles) to offensive equipment, such as hidden ballistic steel bumpers.

No industry is immune to Obamania marketing. Texas Custom Armoring announced last month that it is offering bulletproof limousines for sale to the public.

It's not exactly breaking news; TCA has been armoring vehicles, including limousines, for more than 30 years for the world's richest people and many heads of states. But interest in its services has dramatically increased since Cadillac debuted the president's new wheels.

TCA can bulletproof almost anything (it currently has a Bentley and a Mercedes-Benz Maybach in its shop), and its typical armored limousine is a custom-stretched SUV, such as an Escalade, that it outfits with European B6 grade protection.

What you get with a B6 grade armored-limo is protection against your garden-variety terrorist or well-equipped kidnapper armed with AK-47s or M16s. The cost: about $160,000 plus the price of the car.… Read more

Toyota Motor plans to recall 1.4 million cars throughout the world for minor defects.

About 830,000 cars in Europe, North America, and other regions are being recalled, and another 536,000 in Japan. The defective models include the Yaris (called the Vitz in Japan), Belta, and Ractis models built between January 2005 and April 2008.

The recall concerns the tensioner on seat belts that may melt or catch fire in some collision situations. On some models, there's also concern that the exhaust pipe will crack under extreme heat.

An official safety recall with the National Highway Traffic … Read more