Designing Safe Vehicles (Egg Cars) Introduction

Safety engineers have concluded that passenger restraints is one safety device that could reduce automobile fatalities dramatically. Seat belts, shoulder harnesses, and air bags keep passengers from being thrown from the vehicle or bounce around the vehicle’s interior causing injury.

Another category of safety devices are energy absorbing devices. They absorb or cushion the impact of a collision. Together, these devices can save many lives. This activity will allow you to assume the role of a safety engineer as you design, install, and test safety devices for a crash vehicle.
Problem:
You are an employee of a major automobile manufacturer in the safety engineering department. You have been assigned the task of designing and installing safety devices for a new test vehicle. The vehicle must be able to roll down the test ramp and into an immovable object, (e.g., the wall, a concrete block) while protecting the passenger (a raw egg) from injury. The vehicle will roll down three ramps, each at a steeper angle than the previous. If it survives all three head-on collisions, it will be tested in a roll-over accident.
Materials:
- test ramp

- raw egg (live passenger)

- wood/plastic egg (test dummy)

- zip lock bag (body bag)

- assorted materials for constructing safety devices:

- springs - balloons

- rubber bands - bubble wrap

- weather-stripping - cotton balls

- sponge rubber - Styrofoam
Specifications:

1. 
   You cannot add more than three inches in any direction to your car. (e.g. the front bumper cannot extend more than three inches from the block or the roll cage cannot stick up more than three inches from the block)
   
2. 
   The driver (egg) has to be able to see where they are going. There must be at least one square inch of the egg showing straight ahead where the car is driving. You cannot completely enclose the egg.
   
3. 
   You cannot slow the collision by adding breaks, parachutes, or anything else that will affect the car rolling down the ramp at the correct speed.
   

2. Apply your solutions to your vehicle by constructing your vehicle and safety devices.

3. Test your vehicle with the wood/plastic egg. Observe the reaction of the egg to the collision. You may wish to videotape the collision and play it back in slow motion. Make changes if needed.

4. Replace the test egg with a raw egg and test your vehicle. In the unlikely event the safety system fails to fully protect the passenger, place the egg into a plastic bag (body bag) before installing it in the vehicle. This will make the clean-up much easier.

- Egg car creativity/originality 20 pts

- Egg car workmanship 20 pts

- Egg survival of crash (5 pts./ramp survived) 20 pts

- Problem solving log sheet 40 pts
Total = 100 pts
2. In addition, winners of each of the following will receive additional points:

- Most creative (as voted by class) 10 pts