In the last 20 years, automakers have dramatically increased the way their vehicles protect drivers and passengers during accidents. But one recent measure that's making roadways safer is also making work for emergency responders much tougher.
In 2005, Congress noticed alarming data: more than 28 percent of auto fatalities in America involved side-impact crashes, but American automakers weren't focusing their safety efforts on those sides of their cars. So Congress issued new safety guidelines, giving automakers less than a decade to improve car safety during side impact crashes. Lawmakers quickly adopted side curtain airbags as one solution to the problem.
Automakers also improved the quality of the car's frame, building their vehicles with newer, ultra high strength steel.
Lighter, yet dramatically stronger than conventional steel, ultra high strength steel is already used in most high-end vehicles and imports, but will soon be in every new vehicle.
According to the National Highway transportation Safety Administration, the new regulations will save more than 300 lives and prevent more than 400 brain injuries per year. NHTSA estimates that the new steel and airbags will raise the price of a new car by about $300.
But the increase in safety comes at a price beyond just dollars. An unintended consequence of the implementation of this new steel is that it is virtually unbreakable, even to emergency workers.
More and more, firefighters are running into places on cars where their tools will not cut or bend the steel.
Hydraulic tool manufactures are racing to stay ahead of the new steel, but new tool sets can cost upwards of $100,000 and are usually heavier or more bulky than other extraction sets.
The San Antonio Fire Department, which owns 21 sets of extraction equipment, has only been able to purchase one of the new sets, and according to firefighters, there are vehicles that even the new set will not cut through.
As a result of the emergence of the new steel frames, training has become more important than ever. Fire cadets are shown what to do and where to cut to cut around the high strength steel cage that surrounds the driver and passenger.
This too has created problems.
High voltage lines for hybrids run throughout the vehicle. These lines carry between 100 and 300 volts, enough to kill a firefighter who cuts into them.
Then there are airbag cylinders, which are packed with compressed gas. These are located throughout the vehicle and will explode if cut.
Firefighters are now instructed to turn off the vehicle and place it in park to kill the hybrid lines. They are shown how to peel back the interior skin of the car to reveal the locations of the airbag cylinders, since these cylinders can be placed in various locations depending on the make and model of the vehicle.
Despite the time consumed by peeling back the interior and cutting around parts of the car, most emergency workers agree that cars are safer than ever before. They say your odds of surviving an accident have never been higher, even if the new safety features make their jobs more difficult.
