You get into your car almost everyday and probably never give it much thought. But as the years have gone by and design and technology advanced, your car's cockpit has become safer and safer. The statistics bear this out.
Since statistics were kept, starting in 1900, driver deaths increased based on a per 100,000 basis for every year until 1932 when the recession kept driving down. In 1937, there were 29,357 fatalities per 100,000 population. Even as recently as 1972, traffic deaths per 100,000 were at 26,008. Since then, fatalities have generally decreased reaching a low of 10,345 per 100,000 in 2013. What is behind this drop?
There are many factors, including the construction of safer highways, more awareness of the dangers of DUI, and increasingly safer vehicles. Your car's cockpit is filled with devices, large and small, to keep you safer. Here's a quick look.
Airbags. They first started on the drivers side and eventually moved to the passenger side and even side doors. Airbags have certainly had their issues, but overall they have been a powerful factor in reducing deaths from auto accidents.
Seat construction. We may believe, because of their name, “head rests” are a comfort device. The reality is, they were added to help prevent whiplash and neck damage. In addition, seats tend to be curved at the edges, better holding drivers and passengers in place during a collision.
Better sight-line visibility. Today's vehicles offer much better visibility than previous generations. Many pillars have been removed between side windows creating fewer blind spots.
Better cockpit construction. Lessons learned from racing have been implement into auto design creating cockpits that are stronger in roll-overs. Auto Glass also improves the overall integrity of a car's cabin.
Improvements in auto glass. The past decades have seen improvement in auto glass construction. Glass is safer, more flexible, is tinted to improve vision, and even includes electronics to help keep windows frost-free.
We take for granted the improving safety of our vehicles, including the importance of keeping them properly maintained. In windshield glass, for example, it can be easy to ignore small rock chip damage. This is particularly true if its not in your line-of-sight. But a small chip can become a big crack. That will compromise your cars integrity and may ultimately lead to a more expensive windshield replacement. Taking care of small problems before they become big problems is just common sense.
If you need a windshield rock chip repair, contact Only 1 Glass Repair. We serve the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Twin Cities area with a full range of auto-glass service. We are an employee owned company with fifteen locations throughout the Metro and even have a mobile fleet that can come to you. When you need auto glass repair, remember, there's only one...Only 1 Auto Glass.