Safety BMW

Actions on a safety of the automobile should be, as it is made at BMW, are incorporated into one optimum program of a safety, instead of to consist of isolated parts. Frequently the term "safety" with reference to automobiles limit its to characteristics at collision. However, only one of numerous aspects of strategy of safety and, undoubtedly, it is never better to deal it with it.

It is important to aspire to avoid transport incidents from the very beginning. Therefore the concern of BMW equally carefully is engaged both questions of active safety, and questions of passive safety and protection of the automobile. Connection of these three criteria, that is creation of the three-dimensional concept of safety would be ideal.

Everything concerns to concept of active safety, that prevents dangerous situations, that is, first of all, characteristics which provide a positive control of the automobile. As passive safety understand actions which in the worst case in the greatest possible degree limit risk of wound for all participants of transport incident. The term " protection of the automobile " designates the technical actions directed on avoiding or simplifying carrying out of repairs after transport incident. Only in that case when all this is incorporated in one structurally thought over, harmonious general concept, it is possible to count the automobile really safe.

Excellent quality:

" The general concept " does not mean the term, however, that all technically possible devices providing safety are available. Equally safety depends on excellent quality, whether there is a speech about a design or about materials. The antiblocking system of brakes can not provide meters saving a life if it at turning point will not work so precisely as it is possible from the technical point of view.

The zone of safe deformation of a body of the automobile can appear insufficient if at designing a body the unique kind of collision will be taken into account only.

Seat belts can gradually lose the protective functions if they do not possess absolute stability ageing. And still steady interior for passengers can not provide the necessary safety if in its cavities corrosion was formed. All these aspects are taken into account by firm of BMW already in an initial stage of development of automobiles.

Protection of partners.

The concept of passive safety of BMW provides also protection of other participants of traffic. At the pedestrian and the bicyclist is not present in general any zone of deformation of a body. Small automobiles with small weight are also at a great disadvantage. Therefore external registration of all models of BMW is made such that in case of collision the minimal damages have been put to weaker participants of traffic whenever possible.

At designing the automobiles of BMW carries out the numerous actions directed on reducing risk of reception of wound of pedestrians and bicyclists. We list only major of them: rounded forms of a body in all its a forward part, system with the elastic plastic facing, external mirrors easily turn back, a multilayered safe windshield at destruction and in part sunk screen wipers.

The concept of safety of BMW provides also protection of drivers and passengers of smaller cars on the size which owing to insignificant weight of these automobiles are, in case of collision of automobiles, in more adverse conditions. For the account concerning a "soft" initial phase of deformation of a forward part of a body the automobile of BMW takes a part of work on deformation from weaker partner on itself.

Protection of the automobile.

Fortunately, in most cases small collisions remain for passengers of automobiles of BMW without any consequences, and designers have made all from them dependent that whenever possible and the automobile left such situations without damage. The key moment here again is the programmed absorption of energy: restored systems and additional deformable elements serve that carrying parts of a body of the automobile had no any large damages at face-to-face collision for the speed till 15 km / hour.

Air pillow - the advanced means of protection against impact at movement on inertia during collision.

The air pillow is the advanced means of protection against impact at movement on inertia during collision which, as addition to the seat belts fixed in three points, provides now the most effective protection of the driver and passengers of the automobile. This system works as follows: at sharp collision the head and the top part of a trunk sitting in the automobile are protected from contact to a steering wheel or the forward panel by the air pillow inflated during shares of second.

As far as this system reliably functions, it is possible to illustrate with the help of several figures. Full disclosing of an air pillow occurs during less, than 30 milliseconds - are faster, than the eye will have time to blink. Through precisely designed final apertures harmless working gas from a pillow follows and compensates thus impact. Passes less the fifth share of second and already empty pillow, having executed the function, does not close more kind on road.

The seat belts saving a life.

Frequently people underestimate the important role of seat belts. Seat belts were and remain the major means of protection against impact at movement on inertia during collision, they is effective protect from wounds as well at repeated collisions, at revolutions of the automobile of willows other kinds of transport incidents. To many people action of forces of the inertia arising at transport incident is not absolutely clear. Actually even at seeming low speeds there can be a transport incident with fatal consequences for drivers with not fastened seat belts, and also for pedestrians and the bicyclists, becoming participants of this incident. From physical laws it is impossible to wave away simply: the the distance or time during which the certain speed decreases up to zero is shorter, the the big destructions thus occur.

The tension device of the lock of a seat belt.

At designing the automobile pay attention also small, however to the important details of the automobile. An example to that is the tension device of the lock of a seat belt. It operates simultaneously on humeral and on a zone belt and considerably increases holding action of seat belts. Thus not only the risk of impact of the driver by a head about a steering wheel is considerably reduced, but also danger of hit under a seat belt, so-called " effect of a submarine " decreases.

Safe trip with children.

The smallest passengers demand special attention. Children are forbidden to go in the automobile in the conditions which are not providing their safety, and it should be the obligatory requirement for the parents understanding the responsibility. Therefore in the program of auxiliary accessories of BMW there are also children's seats for any age, in part developed BMW. These seats necessarily suitably are tested and selected so that optimum to provide safety of small passengers

Popular belief is the opinion that the automobile of the most rigid and not deformable design is the most safe. The precise proof to that: the tank which for the speed 50 km / hour runs into a concrete wall, remains externally be relative intact and, it seemed-, provides good protection sitting in it to people. However, people taking place in the tank never will survive at such collision as the organism of the person will not sustain such sharp braking of the tank up to his a full stop. That is, the thesis " firm against firm " is not meaningful. On the contrary, the best protection at transport incident is provided with a body precisely designed and tested in practical conditions which, having very steady design of passenger interior, nevertheless is specially made deformable in all places where there is an absorption of energy of collision at transport incident.

The example with the tank shows importance of such factor, as specially stipulated deformability. Specially stipulated pliability of sheet metal of a body of the automobile carries out, so to say, function of the additional emergency brake serving that passengers were not exposed to sharp influence of force of impact. However the design of passenger interior should be, as against a zone of deformation, very steady so that in case of collision there was a space, sufficient that passengers have survived. Besides inside of interior any parts of the automobile which can cause wounds of passengers should not penetrate.

Bodies of automobiles of BMW are an example from the point of view of all considered requirements. Numerous tests of automobiles for collision with an obstacle, and also the analysis of the occurred transport incidents confirm the success achieved by development of automobiles. Even when forward and back parts of a body of the automobile have been completely deformed, the interior of the automobile remained the whole.

For development of similar bodies of automobiles of BMW has not only the advanced laboratories and workshops, but also and the experience saved up for decades and set of the data which have been received on the basis of the analysis of transport incidents. It allows to determine possible consequences of transport incidents even before manufacturing the automobile, by imitation of the last on a computer. Thus, sharing of modern technologies and know-how of firm promote constant increase of safety of automobiles of BMW at collision with an obstacle