Race cars are the “safety testers” for your daily drivers

Motorsports make cars to reach peak performance and push cars and drivers alike to the limits. Because of this, manufacturers have the opportunity to improve their vehicles, both in performance and driver safety. New technologies applied not only to increase the car performance but to ensure that the driver will not suffer any injuries or at least as less as possible, in case of an accident.

Now, if we take a look inside our cars, you will see a lot of safety features inspired from race cars and adapted to our daily drivers. For example the most common safety features are the anti-lock braking system or  ABS, the traction control and the aerodynamic structure but also the weight distribution, which is not only affects the performance of the car but also the balance of the car and how it will react in case of an accident.

An uncommon one is the safety roll cage, by saying uncommon is because you don’t see it at the first glance. The reason that you don’t notice the energy absorbing structure is because of the single shell construction of the daily drivers, covers the safety roll cage. As in race cars where the interior is naked and you can see the roll cage that shields the driver from harm.

But there are these safety features that most of us won’t even think about it. For example, the head rest on every seat, it’s not there for just comfort but also is protecting the neck from injuries of a severe whiplash. But the one, most of us think of as a standard feature is the rear view mirrors, race drivers began using rear-view mirrors to know where their opponents are but also to make sure they don’t get in the way of an overtaking car.

So, next time you see a new safety feature, remember,it was probably inspired by a race car.