Imagine this scenario: You decide to buy a car for your family. Deciding on a certain model, you carefully read the safety specifications. You learn that it gets X miles per gallon during highway driving and Y during city driving. You meticulously research the initial cost and resale value. Yet, is this all you are interested in? You would certainly (you’re an engineer, after all) want to know the safety specs in the event of an accident. On a treacherously slippery road, would your family survive a collision with another car or truck?
For most of us, our health, and the health of the people we care about, is our No. 1 priority. Thankfully, there is already an abundance of data on human safety in cars, and the research is well funded and ongoing. In fact, there are now advanced crash warning technologies that have the ability to prevent crashes by warning drivers of the need for corrective action before an accident occurs.