Written on June 2, 2008 – 8:12 am | by Bogdan Alex |
Cars have become a necessity in most cities worldwide, but these vehicles may also prove dangerous in some circumstances. Car wrecks and pedestrian accidents happen all the time, even though security measures are improved by the year. In this search for improve security measures, Dutch designers Frans Hegge and Thijs van der Zanden have come up with an interesting car design dubbed the Chessmobile.

I can’t tell if this really works, but the idea is quite simple: the cabin rests atop a platform that can move it around in the event of a crash, keeping the passengers out of the deformation zone — the area of the car the crumples on impact. Theoretically, the passengers are supposed to take a lot less impact force and fatal inertia, as the cabin slides away from the impact spot. Injuries are now less probable, still, you'd need something strong holding the cabin to the platform. If the vehicle crashes with something bigger than itself, all that force could just snap the cabin away from the platform, send the cabin flying and jeopardizing the lives of those inside.

This card design is still in concept phase and will soon be tested to determine its actual efficiency.