Active Safety
99 tests for one real proactive solution
Safety technology against evasion and defense and for protection
A car must be beautiful, dynamic, and respond to your command for an exciting driving performance. Yet people look carefully into the safety elements before anything else when they are purchasing a car. A car, after all, must indeed protect the passengers in any circumstances.
While the cars of the past were only equipped with technologies that protected the passenger, today’s cars have become smarter by being able to predict possible dangers and evading the dangers automatically. In addition, the vehicles are designed and structured in a way as to minimize the damage done to the driver and passengers in the event of unavoidable collision, thus protecting precious lives.
The science behind creation of a vehicle that protects passengers
Every country around the globe has its own New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which checks the safety degree of a vehicle – Euro-NCAP in Europe, C-NCAP in China and ASEAN NCAP in Asia. These are the standards that every car maker aiming to go abroad should adhere to. It is not easy to fulfill all the requirements since the test standards vary from region to region. In some countries, they put more emphasis on the level of deformation of car body during car collision, while some countries consider the level of danger to the passengers. In addition, some countries prefer less deformation to the car after collision, while some countries prefer cars that deform more when collided, as they believe that the car itself absorbs all the damage that may have gone to the passengers. However, what is clear is that the global market’s collision safety standards, which change every two years, drive Hyundai Motor to continuously assess and work on its safety technology. Hyundai Motor is making more solid and smarter vehicles in order to satisfy the varying safety standards of its global market.
Collision-anticipatory technology: Block safely if you can’t evade
The collisions, which happen due to various reasons – from distracted driving to external shocks, pose a major risk to the life of the passengers and driver. Therefore, Hyundai Motor is engaged in ongoing research to study various technologies including ring-shaped structure, sequential-order structure and hot stamping method in order to get the vehicle prepared for collisions. First, the “ring-shaped structure” is about linking the automotive body’s length and width materials using rings so that it could be solid and light. The ring shaped structure not only enhances safety but also promotes fuel consumption efficiency.
In addition, the “sequential-order structure” is the technology that helps the car body to absorb the kinetic energy that comes out during collision, sequentially to scatter the energy. Also, hot stamping method is the technology that gives three to five folds greater sturdiness through press forming and quick freeze quenching of the high-temperature heated material. These two are the technologies that best protect the passengers and pedestrians in times of collision.
Collision preventive technology: Evade if you can
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Automatic Emergency Brake (AEB)
The Automatic Emergency Brake (AEB) system operates when a panicked driver misses the timing to press the brake. The vehicle anticipates the collision on its own and prevents possible accidents by operating brake at the ideal moment.
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Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warns the driver when one or more tires are significantly under-filled, possibly leading to a breakdown or a rupture.
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Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)
The Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) is the mechanism that warns the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of the lane.
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Advanced Smart Cruise Control (ASCC)
The Advanced Smart Cruise Control prevents collision by maintaining a certain distance with the preceding vehicle on a road where the cars stop frequently.
Find more technologies assisting your safe driving, including VSM, FCWS and BSD
GO >Passenger protection technology: the optimal goal of vehicle safety performance development
Hyundai uses the Energy Absorbing Steering Column (EASC) mechanism that promotes safety through the air bag in the steering wheel absorbing the kinetic energy to minimize damage done to the driver. Moreover, the seatbelts have evolved beyond being merely a belt for fastening the passengers to the seats. Hyundai Motor uses the Seat Belt Pretensioner technology which, by rewinding the belt instantly after the collision and releasing it, grabs the passenger and promotes the effect of an air bag.
Pedestrian protective technology: Precision that predicts even the collision spot
The solid vehicle that protects the driver and passenger can ironically be a great threat to the pedestrian. In particular, if the vehicle has a protruding bumper, the pedestrian can possibly suffer a fracture or an even bigger shock if hit by the hood. Hyundai Motor’s Active Hood System prevents such situation from taking place by lifting the hood during collision with the pedestrian, ultimately minimizing the damage.
During an event of collision, the pedestrian can collapse in the road direction and suffer a secondary accident. In order to prevent this Hyundai Motor has applied a lower stiffener design. It is a safety system for the pedestrian, which helps minimizing bending of the pedestrian’s knees to minimize damage and makes the pedestrian fall over the top of the hood, not under the vehicle causing secondary accident. The challenge Hyundai Motor has undertaken to become the safest vehicle in the world has brought the company to a point where Hyundai cars use a technology that minimizes the damage by anticipating the collision spot.
Relentless research and tests for 100% safety, not even for 99%
Although a vehicle may have its safety proved after hundreds of tests, it cannot be called a perfectly safe vehicle if it could not secure a life in one single accident. The technicians at Hyundai Motor assert that there is no such thing as 99% of safety. Hyundai Motor pursues relentless researches and tests for 100% safety. Before our technicians come up with new vehicles, they go for mock up accidents, which are most similar to the real situations, and assume the worst scenario to test the safety. In order to prepare for unexpected tests, Hyundai Motor continues with its quest for safety even at this moment.
