Car Driving and Safety

By far the deadliest risk facing SUV minivan and truck occupants is a rollover accident. According to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) more than 280000 rollover accidents are reported each year claiming more than 10000 lives annually.

Seatbelts save lives -- adult lives. For a seatbelt to do its job it must fit correctly, and on a small child a seatbelt is simply the wrong size. In this article, we'll examine the technology at work and find out how to choose the best child seat.

By Shane Speck

There is something exotic about the traffic lights that "know" you are there — the instant you pull up, they change! How do they detect your presence?

By Talon Homer

The light turns red. You're alone at the intersection. There's not another car in sight. Do you run it? Read this before you answer.

By Tom Harris

The "Jaws of Life" is a huge tool used to free people from mangled cars and burning or collapsed buildings. Learn about this amazingly powerful machine and how it saves lives.

By Kevin Bonsor

Crash test dummies have been the subject of public service announcements, cartoons, parodies, even the name of a band. Real crash test dummies, however, are true life-savers as an integral part of automotive crash tests.

By Karim Nice

Mechanical odometers have been counting the miles for centuries. Although they are a dying breed, they are incredibly cool inside. Learn how this simple device tracks distance and find out about digital odometers.

By Karim Nice

Why is it that at the scene of a car accident the broken glass is always in really small pieces yet when a baseball breaks a house window there are large jagged pieces?

How does a laser speed gun work to measure a car's speed? How is it different from a radar gun?

Air bags have saved thousands of lives since their introduction in the early 1980s. So how do they work?

In my town they are replacing all of the traffic lights with these new lights that look like they are made of hundreds of tiny bulbs. Why are they replacing all of the lights?

A friend of mine just bought a new car and it has a neat security feature. The ignition key has what looks like a microchip embedded in it. The owners manual says that without this chip the engine either will not start or will start and then die immediately. How does this microchip on the key prevent the engine from starting?

Statistics show that airbags reduce the risk of dying in a head-on crash by 30 percent. Learn the science behind the airbag, what its problems are and where the research is heading.

By Marshall Brain