Motor Vehicle Safety

Safety is something that is kept on the top of the priority list and is the most important aspect of the designing phase. I automobile designing, the crash analysis defines the quality safety of the vehicle. Using different approaches including computer simulations, today the automobiles are safer and reliable. All this is only possible today with the advancement in computational power and the advancement in software development over the years. The foremost concern is the safety for the driver and the passengers. The manufacturers have responded to the said concern in a very positive way and have been sticking to the safety standards and regulations set across the world for automobiles. [5]

Some of the safety equipment that was not heard of

Department of Transportation was established in 1970 under the Highway Safety Act, successor to the National Highway Safety Bureau, to carry out the safety programs under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1966. [5]

The Vehicle Safety Act has been recorder under the Title 49 of the U.S. Code in Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety [5] NHTSA is also responsible for the cost savings in terms of automobiles and is primarily concerned with reducing the deaths, injuries and economic losses as a result of road accidents. [5]

These targets are achieved by setting and enforcing certain safety performance standards for automobiles and ensures that they are properly followed through in the supervision of the concerned authorities. NHTSA also deals with the investigation of safety defects in automobiles and enforces fuel economy standards, promotes more safety by reducing the risks of drunk driving, spreading awareness about seatbelts, airbags and by investigating potential odometer frauds. NHTSA also follows up on anti-theft regulations and provides relative information on motor vehicle safety topics.

These include vehicles from the year 2012 onwards. Of course, as our market is, the more expensive a car is, the more expensive the replacement part is. Our market survey included a visit to Cha Sultan, Murree Road, Rawalpindi, as it is the hub of car spare parts and we conducted the survey on a variety of different imported car models such as Toyota Vitz, Suzuki Alto, Toyota Prius, Daihatsu Mira, etc. and all had a variety of different prices averaging from PKR 18,000 to PKR 35,000.

As we chose a car bonnet for prototyping purposes, if a market is established for the composite replacement parts such as doors, bonnets, bumpers, then it would flourish greatly and the parts produced will be light, and a lot of local composite manufacturers who deal with the fabrication of fiberglass sheets can repair these parts easily as well. Therefore with the ease of repairing, the cost is kept in control as well.

3. Objectives

The foremost objective of this project is to give a solution to the existing problem in the local automotive industry for the replacement body parts for imported vehicles. This will be done keeping in mind the industrial standards of manufacturing and safety using the fiberglass and epoxy matrix resulting in a part that is comparable to an existing metallic part.

The overall objectives of this project include:

• Provision of replacement body