What safety equipment should come with every new car

johnos1984

In 2012 ESP is going to be fitted as standard to every car in Europe. Personally I believe it should be fitted as standard today. This got me thinking, what other safety equipment should be fitted as standard?

My own favourite is a radio control stalk similar to that in Pugs/Fords/Renault. This isn't steering wheel mounted controls which I find fiddly but an independant stalk like that used for wipers and is very easy to use after a couple of minutes and it means you don't need to take your eyes off the road.

Other safety equipment I believe should be fitted as standard ASAP are automatic lights and automatic wipers.

What does everyone else think?

bazz26

Replacement bulbs and first aid kits should be made mandatory. They are already in some countries.

High vis vests/jackets and a break down triangle too.

johnos1984

bazz26 wrote: »

Replacement bulbs and first aid kits should be made mandatory. They are already in some countries.

High vis vests/jackets and a break down triangle too.

Agree on all counts. There seems to be a large amount of cars driving round with blown bulbs and the Gardaí don't seem bothered to stop people and the drivers themselves don't care. Sure the NCT comes around every two years to sort those problems :rolleyes:

As for the vests and triangle they are great, I keep a vest in the car just in case. I broke down on a sharp bend before and the triangle was great for warning cars coming around. The vest comes in handy other times too.

Anan1

johnos1984 wrote: »

Agree on all counts. There seems to be a large amount of cars driving round with blown bulbs and the Gardaí don't seem bothered to stop people and the drivers themselves don't care. Sure the NCT comes around every two years to sort those problems :rolleyes:

That should really be a simple one or two points & fine offence.

Mr. Presentable

bazz26 wrote: »

Replacement bulbs and first aid kits should be made mandatory. They are already in some countries.

High vis vests/jackets and a break down triangle too.

These.
And a nine inch metal spike in the centre of the steering wheel

mailforkev

johnos1984 wrote: »

My own favourite is a radio control stalk similar to that in Pugs/Fords/Renault...
Other safety equipment I believe should be fitted as standard ASAP are automatic lights and automatic wipers.

I'll keep the radio buttons on the steering wheel, much better (and neater) IMO. The less stalks the better.

My lights are always on (Volvo) which is deffo a good feature, I still can't get over the amount of cars with no lights on long past dusk, typical stingy Irish folk trying to save their bulbs.

All cars should have a warning triangle and torch, and you should have a hi-vis vest (I think in some countries you actually need on for each passenger too).

Auto wipers are a pain in the arse though.

johnos1984

Anan1 wrote: »

That should really be a simple one or two points & fine offence.

Isn't the car supposed to be up to NCT standard even when its in test. I can understand it blowing and someone taking a few days to get it fixed but its people who just keep on driving regardless.

I know I got a nasty surprise on a country road at night, a car with the drivers side lights blown came around a turn and I thought it was a motor bike :eek:

EPM

Drove a Passat recently with no stereo controls on the wheel. The split second you look at the stereo anything could happen. ESP should be fitted now also

af_thefragile

I don't think auto lights and wipers do anything in terms of safety.
They're just more of a luxury for people who can't be bothered turn them on manually.

Traction control, ABS and ESP are the 3 things that should be on all cars.

Collision avoidance braking system looks like a very useful system but it still has a way to go before being developed fully.
Lane departure warning (the one which buzzes your steering wheel when your car crosses the white lane markings) is a good thing to have as well.

Radar guided cruise control is nice too but it could cause the driver to lose concentration/fall asleep due to lack of things to do.

Parking assist I feel just dumbs down drivers. People who can drive well can park fine without any assist. People should learn how to park without assists before they learn to drive on the roads.

ANd as EPM mentioned, stereo controls near the steering wheel is very useful to have. I have an aftermarket Sony remote thing fitted behind my steering wheel which I can use to control the stereo without having to look down at it. Its really good as it allows you to keep your eyes on the road at all times.

I personally don't like controls on the steering wheel. But behind the steering wheel, mounted on the steering column is a good place.

djimi

The lightbulbs is a big issue, especially in rural areas. The amount of cars you see with blown headlights is frightening. I would love to see that policed like in the US where there is practically zero tolerance for blown headlights.

Gregor Samsa

The audio control stalk is a good idea. I have it in my Focus, and it's much less distracting to use the then on-wheel controls on our Mazda 6. I always thought about as an advantage just in terms of ergonomics, but it definitely has a safety benefit too.

Regarding the replacement bulbs, car manufactures should be forced to make it so they can be replaced easily and with minimal tools by pretty much anyone. The Mazda 6 instructions for replacing the headlamp bulbs involve removing the inside cover of the wheel arch. My old Citroen Xsara forced me to become an amature contortionist to do the task. It should be a matter of pop the bonnet, undo a clip, and replace the bulb.

Finally, A big sticker on the inside of the widscreen that says "LEFT HAND LANE, DAMMIT!"

johnos1984

af_thefragile wrote: »

I don't think auto lights and wipers do anything in terms of safety.
They're just more of a luxury for people who can't be bothered turn them on manually.

Exactly why they should be fitted as a safety system, people seem determined to save the electricity in their batteries

af_thefragile wrote: »

Parking assist I feel just dumbs down drivers. People who can drive well can park fine without any assist. People should learn how to park without assists before they learn to drive on the roads.

I wouldn't consider it as a safety feature, its just for people who shouldn't be on the roads in the first place

johnos1984

phutyle wrote: »

The audio control stalk is a good idea. I have it in my Focus, and it's much less distracting to use the then on-wheel controls on our Mazda 6. I always thought about as an advantage just in terms of ergonomics, but it definitely has a safety benefit too.

As someone who rear ended another car while trying to change station with a fiddly radio I can confirm they are a safety feature

nogoodnamesleft

johnos1984 wrote: »

Exactly why they should be fitted as a safety system, people seem determined to save the electricity in their batteries





I wouldn't consider it as a safety feature, its just for people who shouldn't be on the roads in the first place

Daytime running lights are to become mandatory from 2011. I dunno where this will leave autolights which are susceptible to failure. Very funny issues on the Citroens with them fitted mabey thats just Citroens thou

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1394&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en


As for wipers most of the time I like to control it myself. I can envisage stuff like that going horribly wrong when the car gets on in years.

Mr.David

I think it would be interesting if all cars had a warning tone (like the no seatbelt one) that went off continuously when a bulb was blown :P

Also a humidity detector which was set so that the fogs couldnt be turned on below a certain level of humidity :pac:

On a more serious note, a lot of cars seem to have shocking headlights - they should be more regulated and controlled.

enda1

Mr.David wrote: »

I think it would be interesting if all cars had a warning tone (like the no seatbelt one) that went off continuously when a bulb was blown :P

Also a humidity detector which was set so that the fogs couldnt be turned on below a certain level of humidity :pac:

On a more serious note, a lot of cars seem to have shocking headlights - they should be more regulated and controlled.

Regarding the fog one.

This is being developed by a number of companies a the moment. (such as Continental I think although I don't see it on their website)
They are looking at radar (not sure which wavelength) to bounce off the water droplets so that in heavy rain/fog it will reflect the right amount in the right way and activate the fog lamps.

Probably wouldn't overwrite manual control also though but could be a good automatic feature.

Completely agree with anything to improved the use of lights though! In particular the blown bulbs and fogs.

dr.fuzzenstein

Auto wipers?
No sorry, I decide how much wipers I need.
ABS, ESP and traction control, all good as long as traction control can be switched off.
In the long run what will eventually come is all cars on busy main routes will be self-driving, no driver involvement.
This will eliminate plonkers doing 30 km/h and everyone else trying to overtake them and rep-man in his Mondeo trying to overtake everyone while doing that.
I dream of roads where there is a long strem of cars all guiding themselves along at the speed limit while the driver can engage in some light embroidery.
This won't happen in the next 5 years I'm sure.:D
However, the more driver aides there are, the more drivers will become dependant on them.
ABS, ESP, traction control, radar guided cruise control, automatic braking, (creaky old man voice) in my day we had a steering wheel and some brakes if we where lucky, kept you on your toes, laddie!
To be serious though, the more driver aides the more the driver will become dependant on them, rely on them and take greater risks because of them.
Totally agree on warning triangle, high viz vest, med kit, spare bulbs (why oh why WON'T the Gards enforce that!?), basic tool kit and maybe a can of tyre weld.

Mr.David

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

in my day we had a steering wheel and some brakes if we where lucky, kept you on your toes, laddie!

Totally agree on warning triangle, high viz vest, med kit, spare bulbs (why oh why WON'T the Gards enforce that!?), basic tool kit and maybe a can of tyre weld.

Yes, but in your day the road death rates were also much higher than today!

I agree with the second part, but on so many modern cars replacing a blown bulb is a major effort and not something Mr. Average Joe is going to manage at the side of the road in the rain.

Atomic Pineapple

The best safety feature any new car could come with is a voucher for free but mandatory lessons on how to drive it.

Alun

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Totally agree on warning triangle, high viz vest, med kit, spare bulbs (why oh why WON'T the Gards enforce that!?), basic tool kit and maybe a can of tyre weld.

Also agree, but would like to point out to those few people who actually do have warning triangles, that placing them only 1-2m away from the back of your car isn't really going to make much difference to you being hit or not.

At the very least, i.e. low-speed urban situations, they should be placed 50m away, 100-150m on fast moving roads, and 200-250m on motorways.

johnos1984

Just thought of another feature which should be fitted to EVERY new car.

A decent set of tyres. I've noticed recently that a lot of cars are starting to come with eco tyres which have less rolling resistance and hence poorer braking performance.

So what if you get one or two more MPG I'd rather stop quicker

Alun

johnos1984 wrote: »

Just thought of another feature which should be fitted to EVERY new car.

A decent set of tyres. I've noticed recently that a lot of cars are starting to come with eco tyres which have less rolling resistance and hence poorer braking performance.

So what if you get one or two more MPG I'd rather stop quicker

There's an ad running on the TV at the moment for Michelin's "eco" tyre claiming it actually has a shorter stopping distance than normal tyres.

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

That should really be a simple one or two points & fine offence.

Its a bit harsh though as bulbs can go at anytime, a bulb could blow and around the next corner you meet a checkpoint.

mailforkev

Dominique Mealy Cell wrote: »

Its a bit harsh though as bulbs can go at anytime, a bulb could blow and around the next corner you meet a checkpoint.

You should get 24 hours to turn up to the cop shop with fully functioning lights or take the points/fine.

All cars should have a warning light/message that shows when a bulb is gone.

johnos1984

Dominique Mealy Cell wrote: »

Its a bit harsh though as bulbs can go at anytime, a bulb could blow and around the next corner you meet a checkpoint.

Give them a couple of days to get it fixed then bring it to the station along with your licence.

It would be very quick and effective at getting people to sort them.

Its become too much of a problem now to ignore it and it is some of the most basic and important safety equipment a car has

johnos1984

mailforkev wrote: »

All cars should have a warning light/message that shows when a bulb is gone.

My 31 year old Rover had a big red light to tell you if a headlight bulb was gone. It even worked

mailforkev

mailforkev wrote: »

You should get 24 hours to turn up to the cop shop with fully functioning lights or take the points/fine.

All cars should have a warning light/message that shows when a bulb is gone.

johnos1984 wrote: »

Give them a couple of days to get it fixed then bring it to the station along with your licence.

It would be very quick and effective at getting people to sort them.

Its become too much of a problem now to ignore it and it is some of the most basic and important safety equipment a car has

Something like the above I would have no problem with but on the spot fines would be unfair.

Atomic Pineapple

Dominique Mealy Cell wrote: »

Something like the above I would have no problem with but on the spot fines would be unfair.

Very, mine blew on the last day of the AWTR trip and I couldn't fix it at the side of the road as the headlight had to come out, I got home, parked it up for the night and fixed it the next morning before heading out.