Airbags and ABS under fire
A study by Purdue University states that safety systems like ABS and airbags make drivers less vigilant. Fred Mannering, the professor of civil engineering at the university who led the study, brought his team to the water of five years of motor vehicle crashes in Washington State. The students began studying the collisions beginning in 1992, as that was about when airbags and ABS began to be introduced rapidly into the mainstream auto market.The study compared the accident rates of 1,307 drivers, of which 271 switched from a vehicle without airbags to a vehicle equipped with them. Mannering states that this 'offset hypotheses' could explain why accident rates for anti-lock braking system-equipped vehicles actually increased when the technology was introduced. Mannering also stated that in his own experience driving his vintage MG roadster he is more cautious. Apparently, he also doesn't accelerate quickly on wet roads because his car doesn't have ABS?!
This report has nothing to do with the safety merits of the technologies themselves, but instead the assumptions on which drivers behaved during an important introduction of a new set of safety improvements. While we might agree that ABS and airbags may have given drivers a false sense of confidence, we would much rather be in an airbag-equipped Miata than an ancient MG if we were expecting to run head on into another object. It's hard not to feel like Mannering is letting his own experience and feelings influence his research, but you didn't hear that here. Additionally, it's probably not valid to make assumptions about the behavior of drivers today based on data that is over ten years old and was acquired during a transition period in safety technology. Furthermore, many safety experts, like NHTSA and IIHS, feel the findings questionable, as well. We encourage you to check out the article yourself at Ward's by following the 'read' link below.
[Source: Ward's Auto]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ruggels 7:17PM (10/23/2006)
LMAO, Washington state? Same population as the county of LA? oooo kkkk. Sorry this just makes me chuckle, having moved to spokane from san diego. Here in spokane (WA's second/third largest city depending on who you ask) the traffic fatality so far is one. Go ahead and compare that to any major city in california. I guess it's a pie in the sky hope to think someone might, I dunno, get on board with the UC system and do some sort of study like this in... say... our countries most populus state? Maybe sample the data from tens of thousands of cases? No? Going to stick with a state the size of LA county where the third largest city has one fatality a year as a result of car accidents? Ok... just don't try and explicate your findings across the country where the driving conditions, populations, etc are drastically different.
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Tom 7:40PM (10/23/2006)
I saw a documentary a few years ago, where a driving instructor felt that a sharp spike should be mounted in the center of the steering wheel for the same reasons. It would force drivers to pay more attention. Interesting idea.
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chewy 7:32PM (10/23/2006)
We should definately ban safety belts. I mean they are proven to encourage agressive driving (including the mother of all sins-"street" racing) by 175%.
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Kowell 7:35PM (10/23/2006)
ABS breaks make drivrs less vigilent??? Hell these things break like shit on heavy snow... if anything you have to be MORE vigilent...
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Luke 7:39PM (10/23/2006)
We know that people are less careful when they have more safety features. It's a psychological phenomenon called "risk compensation", and it's been known about for a long time. Wikipedia has a nice article on it. Anyway, the main gist of this article can be assumed to be true just 'cause the same thing is true of all safety features...
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Juan 7:42PM (10/23/2006)
Drivers may have been less vigilant during the transition period, but as time has passed, there are more and more drivers that have never driven a car without ABS or airbags, and have never given those features a second thought.
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Jay 8:02PM (10/23/2006)
I have met tons of people who havnt figured out how to use ABS brakes, you are supposed to hit the brakes and steer, not pump just like the text book says. if only..
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glw 8:39PM (10/23/2006)
if you put a 6" sharpened spike in the center of the steering wheel instead of an airbag, people would drive safer and there would be fewer accidents...
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Mike Magda 8:43PM (10/23/2006)
There is some merit to this theory based on the growth of 4-wheel-drive vehicles in the late '80s and early '90s. Slick advertising put mainstream consumers into comfort zones with which they easily identified, such as snow packed roads. It wasn't long before every TV news report during a winter storm showed nothing but 4WD vehicles being pulled out of snowbanks. Drivers unfamiliar with 4WD simply didn't realize there were limitations to the vehicle's capability. They were convinced their SUV was glued to to the road, regardless of conditions. Certainly over-confidence or lack of understanding about vehicle dynamics has some bearing on the increased rate of vehicle rollovers. Will this phenomenon continue in light of the increased use of electronic stability control in vehicles? Are drivers going to hit 270-degree freeway onramps at full throttle, believing their ESC will control the throttle and individual brakes to ensure their safety? Will today's marketing campaigns be more restrained in promoting the benefits of ESC, or are there just too many fools who will try to test the system's limits on their own?
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boflaade 9:46PM (10/23/2006)
Perhaps I drove to many miles in different vehicles to compensate for those with or without ABS/airbags. Nuts! There are many who never drove without them and I don't fathom them driving one way or the other because of it.
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Gardiner Westbound 9:41PM (10/23/2006)
I'm not sure overconfidence is the applicable term. Few drivers know how anti-lock brakes work, and even fewer have the presence of mind to correctly utilize them. I doubt air bags are safer than seat belts. Where is the evidence daytime running lights or third stop light have prevented a single accident? The safety Nazis have added thousands of dollars to the cost of a new car, with dubious benefits.
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Keith 9:54PM (10/23/2006)
If anything, having ABS/airbags makes me want to be more careful - as I have no excuse to crash!
Anyway, what stupid data. Their conclusion should have been people are stupid and don't know how to drive.
You should not drive unless you at least 'appreciate' or 'understand' cars. When I was in HS, there was a girl who said she hated to drive without music because she needed something to 'distract her from driving'. Need I say more?
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salguod 12:05AM (10/24/2006)
"Apparently, he also doesn't accelerate quickly on wet roads because his car doesn't have ABS?!"
LOL! He accelerates slowly because he drives an old MG, that's the only way they accelerate.
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iQuack 11:07PM (10/23/2006)
No surprise at all. There are unintended consequences to almost everything that matters.
Advertise the safest ladder and people will climb higher on it and break their necks when they fall.
Still, it's best to have airbags, ABS, etc. If you remain a safe driver, you're more likely to escape injury or death when SOMEONE ELSE runs into your car.
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Jamie 12:18PM (11/14/2006)
#10
Evidence daytime running lights prevent accidents: http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/DRLs/studies.htm
Evidence third stop lights prevent accidents: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1998/nht1698.htm
"I doubt air bags are safer than seat belts" - Airbags are intended to used WITH the seatbelt. Without the seatbelt, all it will do is slow you down a bit as you bounce off it and soar through the windshield.
I doubt DRLs and third stop lights add much to the cost of a car. This is certainly a case where the benefits outweight the costs.
The root cause of the problem is lack of driver training. It is way too easy in North America to get a drivers license. Driving around the block and parallel parking doesn't mean you have the skills to handle a vehicle in an emergency situation. New drivers should be taught and have to demonstrate accident avoidance skills before being given a license.
It scared the crap out of me the first time I tried to brake hard in an ABS equiped car going down an icy hill. Instead of the sliding sensation I was use to, I could tell the wheels were still rolling. The ABS allowed me to steer and avoid an accident but it was a sensation I wish I had the chance to experience before I had to in an emergency. I can see how some people would panic in that situation.
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Bob 11:34PM (10/23/2006)
File this under the column with the people who complain that stability control will make crazed freaks out of us all.
When power brakes were invented, did people complain that everyone would start braking later/following other vehicles too closely with all that extra stopping power? Probably. Were they right? No.
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Bob 11:34PM (10/23/2006)
Plus, what happens when you "pump" ABS brakes? You don't stop well at all. I know my parents bought a new car that came with standard ABS, and they didn't understand it does the brake pumping for you. I bet a lot of people in panic situations will instinctively pump their brakes, and if so, maybe that explains some of the supposed increase in accidents.
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MikeW 12:54AM (10/24/2006)
The CHMSL should not be called the 'third brake light' on cars unless the brake lights are positive signalling.
Today I was behind someone in a new-ish Trailblazer schoolbus edition, both brake lights had failed. Only the CHSML was working. Maybe GM shouldn't cheap out on bulbs, it is not like they are using the 3457, but only the 3157.
The CHSML help to distribute braking when there is a disparity in heights. Say you are behind a Focus, behind a F-150. You can't see around the truck or through it, so you don't know if the truck is following too closely and an accident is bound to happen. If s/he hits the brakes, that data is transmitted to you bypassing the driver of the focus, who may or may not be following too closely.
If the specificaion for CHMSL was a 10 milliseconds or faster response time, that would increase safety.
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CH 3:40AM (10/24/2006)
People learn (from the media, educational programs, personal experience, etc.,) and adapt accordingly throughout their lives.
Most people used to non-ABS brakes eventually learn and adopt correct ABS braking techniques.
The person who initially thinks ESC makes him invincible will usually change his mind and behavior after a few mishaps. And, should he instead die of ignorance, others will learn from the tragedy.
The inflexible few stop driving eventually, one way or another. They get replaced by drivers with no exposure to the old, schooled only in the new.
It all works out in long run.
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mauthbaux 4:01AM (10/24/2006)
Disclaimer: I've only been driving since '96, so I can't speak for drivers before that time. However, in my decade of experience, it seems that drivers are much less cautious now than when I began driving.
It's only been within the last 2 years that I've felt threatened by tailgaters. Everyone seems to believe that their car will protect them no matter how badly they drive it. They put everyone around them in danger just to save a few seconds.
Just a few weeks ago I was driving my ford escort, being tailgated by someone in a PT cruiser. It was a mother, on her cell phone, with 3 unbuckled children in the car following me so closely that I couldn't even see her headlights. We were travelling at 75mph.
AFAIK, every state has tailgating laws, but I've yet to meet anyone who actually got a ticket for doing so. Here in NC, the two second following distance is law, but if you open up that distance, plan on at least 2 other cars pulling in ahead of you. Sadly, it was even worse where I lived in South Carolina.
As a passenger, whenever I (politely) mention the totally unsafe and illegal way the driver is using their car, they laugh and say that their car can handle it. Sorry, but the laws of physics still apply. Just because you're safe, dosen't mean that you'll avoid killing everyone around you.
So yeah, I think safety features are a great thing. However, when people compensate for their safety features by driving like distracted idiots I have a problem with that. We can't afford to let our streets and highways turn into a mass and safety feature arms race.
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