ALARM SYSTEM: Describes a system designed to protect a vehicle against vandalism or theft. In the event of anyone tampering with the vehicle, an alarm will sound as a buzzer, a chime, or a human voice, lights will flash and the ignition system will become inoperative. More advanced systems will even notify the police and alert the vehicle owner.
BABY SEAT: A specially designed seating device to hold young children weighing less than 1.5 stone (under 10 kilograms).
CHILDPROOF LOCK: Describes a specially designed locking device can be set to normal or to childproof. On the rear doors of a car, when set to childproof, the door cannot be opened from the inside.
CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM: Describes a number of items which are designed to protect children from injury during an accident (such as child seats).
CHILD SEAT: Describes a small safety seat mounted on a regular car seat and held in place by the seat belt.
CRASH SENSOR: Describes a sensor that deploys an air bag when a crash is determined, usually as a result of excessive deceleration.
DRIVER AIR BAG: Describes the original type of air bag, designed to protect the driver from being hurled into the steering wheel and instrument panel.
ELECTRONIC NAVIGATOR: Describes an on-board trip computer which provides useful information for the driver including estimated time of arrival (ETA), amount of fuel left and average fuel consumption among others
ENERGY ABSORBING STEERING COLUMN: Describes a steering column which collapses when the vehicle is involved in a head on collision.
FAILSAFE SYSTEM: Describes a system which will allow the car and its passengers to remain safe even when a major safety feature fails.
GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE (GPS): Describes the technology that allows a vehicle to be tracked anywhere in the world with near-perfect accuracy. The Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system was first used by the military, but has been adopted by commercial companies with several after-market communication systems using GPS now available.
HAMLIN SWITCH: Describes a suspended-mass-type sensor used in modern versions of air bag systems- in demand as they avoid the ecological problems associated with the earlier mercury-type switches.
IMPACT ABSORBER: Describes an impact-damping element usually placed between the bumper and the bumper mounting that will retain impact energy from being transferred into the car body.
IMPACT CUSHION: Describes a type of child seat that will secure the child by an impact cushion in addition to the seat belt or straps.
INFLATION CONTROL SEAM: Describes a system of inflation control seams used on advanced air bags to control the inflation speed and inflation characteristics.
INFLATOR UNIT: Describes an assembly situated beneath the folded air bag that on receiving signal from the trigger unit will cause the bridge igniter to fire the detonator, which in turn fires the priming charge and then the solid propellant, causing the nitrogen to flow through a metal filter reaching the air bag cleaned and cooled.
INTEGRAL MOULDED SEAT: Describes a seat with integral three-point seat belt
INTEGRATED CHILD SAFETY SEAT: Describes a fold-down child safety seat part of the original car, typically located in the centre of the rear seats. When not in use, the seat can be folded away, much like an armrest.
INTEGRATED ROLL CAGE: Describes a cage fitted in a car that serves the dual purpose of protecting the passenger while also creating a place to hang all the car's components.
LATCH: Describes a device used to fasten either car doors of panels, consisting of a small metal bar which engages with a striker on the opposite part.
LOCK: Describes a fastening device which closes and opens by the use of a key.
LOCK CYLINDER: Describes a cylinder in the middle of a lock that is prevented from opening by a number of pins which are held in place in the wall of the cylinder and can only be released by turning the appropriate key.
REMOTE-CONTROL LOCKING: Describes a central locking device operated by a remote control from outside the car
REMOTE KEYLESS ENTRY: Describes a system in which a vehicle’s door locks can be opened or locked by a small hand-held switching device that can be located several feet away.
SQUIB: Describes a device used to detonate an airbag in the event of an emergency.
TRIGGERING DEVICE: Describes an electronic control unit, containing a deceleration sensor, a Hamlin switch and a check circuit, designed to instantly activate an air bag in the event of an accident.
SIDE IMPACT AIR BAG: Describes the heavy-duty fabric bags installed in the doors of some cars that will inflate rapidly during a side impact collision, preventing passengers from hitting against the windows or pillars of the car.
STEERING WHEEL AND BRAKE LOCK: Describes an important device that protect a vehicle from theft by way of an extendable steel rod that engages in a spoke of the steering wheel and the brake or clutch pedal that when locked, will prevent the vehicle from moving front or back.
WHEEL LOCK: Describes an anti-theft device used to protect expensive wheels.
TRIP COMPUTER: Describes an in-car computer with a multifunction display that supplies the driver with trip information such as range, estimated time or arrival (ETA), distance to destination, time, fuel economy, fuel consumption, average speed, accumulated trip miles, elapsed time and other items depending on the computer’s capacity.