Vehicle Safety
(Egg Cars)
Vehicle Safety Features
Crumple Zone (Bumper)
A vehicle should have a high strength passenger area
and then impact absorbing crumple zones surrounding it.
Crumple Zone (Bumper)
The idea is for the crumple zone to absorb the impact and
crush inward but leave the passenger compartment undamaged.
Passenger Restraints (Seat Belts)
• The less the passenger moves, the less they
can be or are injured.
• Seatbelts hold the passenger in place.
Air Bags
An air bag keeps the passenger from bouncing around
or hitting the hard parts of the interior of the vehicle.
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion
• Newton’s first law states that an object in motion will stay in
motion (everything in the car not that’s not attached to the
vehicle) unless an equal and opposite force acts on it (this
being the seat belt, slowing the driver down).
• So when in a crash, the passenger will continue to move
forward at the same rate as the vehicle was without restraint.
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion
• Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The
greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater
the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).
F = MA (force = mass x acceleration)
• Force applied = rate of change of momentum.
• So to reduce the force in a crash, the rate of change of
momentum needs to be reduced (i.e. the deceleration)
• So an air bag slows the passenger down gradually or crumple
zones on the front/back of the car will gradually bring it to a
halt rather than a sudden stop.
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion
Since FORCE IS EQUAL TO MASS MULTIPLIED BY ACCELERATION
(F = ma), a car with a much greater mass will likely do better or
even survive in a car crash compared to a car with a smaller
mass, even if the two vehicles were travelling at the same
acceleration.
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion
• For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• This means that if you’re hurled from a vehicle and you hit the
ground, or a pole, or even the dashboard or windshield, the
object that you hit hits you back with a force of the exact
same magnitude as the force you hit it with.
Crash Test Dummies
These brave souls put their lives on the line for YOUR safety!
Be Safe!!!!