In 1983 Ronald Reagan was US president, number one acts included Kajagoogoo, Culture Club and Spandau Ballet, Thatcher was prime minister, and Return of the Jedi hit our cinema screens.
And somewhere, in the middle of all this, wearing seatbelts became a legal requirement for front seat drivers and passengers. According to Think Direct, people involved in a crash who are not wearing seatbelts are twice as likely to die as those who are. So when one considers that driving motor vehicles had been fairly commonplace since the 1900s, it seems amazing that it would take eight decades for seat belts to become law, at the same time as such recent cultural and political figures as these were famous.
Seatbelts are just one of many technological changes to cars that have crept in or emerged with fanfare; saved time, or money, or both; or made it faster or slower or safer. Many are not even noticed any more. Who pays attention, for example, to the history of their indicator or air conditioning unit? And yet imagine how many accidents have been prevented by the appearance of indicators, or how many road trips have been made more enjoyable through heating or air conditioning.
Let’s take the example of Sat nav technology. When was the first ‘Sat Nav’ used in vehicles? Since the technology that allows them to work is based on artificial satellites in the Earth’s atmosphere (useable several decades after the first ever launch in 1957) then we know that it has to be the mid-90s, correct?
Actually, the idea and concept has been around since the 30s, thanks to a remarkable Italian device known as the Iver Avto. The fairly crude device worked by linking a scrolling paper map connected to the steering wheel and speedometer, showing the driver where they were at any given time. Motorists might argue of the merits of using sat-navs, but they’ve certainly made thousands of journeys easier and more efficient – for almost nine decades.
Micro-cameras are also much more prevalent in 2016 driving. There are huge numbers of videos online showcasing the recordings of these tiny dashboard-mounted devices, which are often used as evidence by insurance companies in accidents, and also the battle against crash for cash attempts.
Combined with motion sensors and object detection systems, these safety solutions can also aid in preventing accidents when parking anything from a van to a road sweeper, and enabling safe driving with blind spots.
In which direction is driving headed? Self-driving cars have been spoken of in either exalted or terrified terms, with motorists undecided on their merits and safety. We know that Google and Tesla are the two super-heavyweights in the market, but recently much smaller, independent designers are getting in on the act.
For example, the Guardian reports that a young entrepreneur named Brandon Moak has started offering students rides in his self-driving vehicles at California State University, thanks to a dramatic drop in the cost of the laser functioning system that such cars use. In 2016 it represents a novelty – but within years this will seemingly be commonplace.
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