Safety mods?
 

Are there any reasonably simple mods that one could make and increase crash safety of a car?

Add foam in strategic places for a crush zone?

Four point safety belts?

A boattail with impact absorbing properties?

Padding on the dash and steering wheel?

The boat-tail can help, even if it isn't particularly impact-absorbing. If people see that the end of your car is "back there", they will likely be trying to stop "back there" instead of closer to the main part of the structure of the car.

Four-point belts are not so great most of the time. Unless you get them mounted correctly, and always use them correctly and in the right position, they may do more harm than good. Five-point (or six-, or even seven-point!) restraints are preferred in the racing world mainly because the "sub straps" keep the lap belt in position where it is actually effective. And racing harnesses are meant to be worn tight, too tight to easily look over your shoulder like you would do when backing up. So they present their own problems on the street.

Some good safety mods you can make for very cheap are:
- Leaving buffers between you and other cars on the road, especially in front of you.
- Always plan a way out of any situation you think it may be possible for you to get into.
- Keep your eyes moving around, looking for developing situations that can become problems.
- Make sure your horn works and is good and loud.
- Make sure your lights all work.

Extra padding on interior parts of the car may help a little, but probably not a whole lot.

A roll cage is good at keeping anything outside form intruding into the passenger space, but it's also really good at breaking any body parts that come in contact with it. Like skulls. (And you'd be amazed at how far your seat belts stretch in a wreck!) So they aren't generally a very good thing to have in a street car. Most roll cages assume a complete set of safety systems, and if you're missing one or two they can do more harm than good.

Much like saving gas, the cheapest and most effective things to do are to change the way you drive.

-soD

Shop for the safest car, even a model that looks the same for a few years may have additional safety features you don't see.

When I drive in bad weather I leave my winter coat on. Can't hurt right?

On a newer car the decent mods would be to keep brakes in good condition or even improve them and of course buy good tires, because too cheap of a tire can sometimes lengthen the stopping distance tremendously.

The other things are driver related, just like some_other_dave sai. I would add:
1. Have a good driving position -> believe it or not, braking distance increases a lot if your seat is too reclined (like those "I want to look cool" kids drive) and if your feet are too far from the pedals.
http://www.driving-test-success.com/...g-position.gif
2. Ease your mind before you get behind the wheel so that you can keep a relaxed but focused mindset. A lot of accidents are due to drunks or just careless people in a hurry. Make a conscious decision to let go of stress and not only will you drive better and enjoy it, life itself will seem much nicer :)

Have your mirrors correctly adjusted, if you can see your car in the mirror it is wrong. To correctly set the mirrors you will need to lean about 6in toward the mirror you are adjusting now angle the mirror to where you can just see the edge of the car, repeat on the other side. When done correctly it should eliminate most blind spots as a car behind you will move from the rear mirror to the side mirror with it being in both for just a second, when the car moves out of the view of the side mirror you should be able to the car because it is next to you.

place knives and rebar pointing toward you coming out of the dash as a constant reminder that you are operating a vehicle and the safety cage around you is an illusion.

Good tires, mirrors pointed in the right direction (not at your own fenders), and drive like everyone else is trying to kill you.

Securely :
mount a 5BC fire extinguisher in the cabin , mount a 10BC in the trunk
Mount an approved road emergency medical kit in the cabin in view
Mount a 'Life Hammer" [or equivalent]in reach of the drivers position
they say with velcro but thAT IS INADEQUATE , ALL OBJECTS MOUNTED MUST BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN ROLL OVER G-FORCE
.lifehammer.com/

if you are really worried wear a helmet

I can see the fire extinguisher being useful for saving your property, but when's the last time you saw a car fire?

I can't really picture a situation where the hammer or extinguisher could save your life, though. Not a remotely likely situation at least.

Speaking of car fires, clean and degrease your engine bay. Fix any oil leaks you find, and inspect fuel lines for rust.

Hide under the covers and never come out would be the surest bet :thumbup:

September 2009 in Denmark, but it was already way too far gone to fight it with tiny car extinguishers.
It could still have been possible with a 9kg / 20lbs powder extinguisher though, for someone trained to use them.

They certainly exist.
But in the hands of the inexperienced / unaware, car fire extinguishers have a bad habit of not working when needed.
I've seen pics with dozens of them on the pavement while people tried to rescue someone trapped in a burning car, complaining most of them simply didn't work.

The powder sorta solidifies on the bottom - or side, depending on how it's been stored for years, and unless it's kicked loose first, you'll just release the driving gas instead of the powder.
Like all powder fire extinguishers, they could do with a decent kick on the pavement before pulling the safety plug.
Angle them away for yourself when doing so.


I've put out 2 car fires - one on my own car. :o


Germany doesn't even require fire extinguishers.
It's a massive saving on dead weight not being carried around.
Either add mandatory fire extinguishing training to the driver education, or forget about them.