Publications
Partners
Not only did women invent the dishwasher and chocolate chip cookies but they are also the brainpower behind automotive safety inventions dating as far back as the 1800s.
Women’s Month is always a great opportunity to celebrate and be reminded of how inventive and creative women have been throughout the ages.
“It’s wonderful to be reminded of the fact that women have been pioneers in the auto industry for centuries,” said AutoTrader’s marketing director Angelique Lynch.
Here are six revolutionary automobile safety features that were invented by motoring heroines which have no doubt saved many lives:
1. Mechanical turn and brake signals
The “first real silent movie star” in the early 1900s, Florence Lawrence also had a hand in the development of a significant car safety feature in 1914, namely mechanical signallying arms and brake signals.
Even though there were similar devices being developed at the time, hers was certainly pioneering. An electrically-actuated flag would pop up from the rear bumper to indicate right or left turning, and a small “stop” sign would pop up when the driver stepped on the brake.
2. Brake pads
Bertha Benz was a feisty lady and the first to take a real road trip in a private, petroleum-powered vehicle (as opposed to a steam vehicle) in 1888. The wife of Karl Benz, famed engineer who developed his Patent Motowagen in 1886, and a founder of Mercedes Benz, she was also one of his investors and a savvy marketer.
Realising people had to see her husband’s inventions in action for it to become successful, she and her sons snuck off in the three-wheeled car to go visit her mother, more than 95km away.
A couple of breakdowns along the way led to her asking a shoemaker to add leather to the braking blocks – resulting in the invention of the very first brake pads.
3. Windscreen wipers
In 1902, Mary Anderson was visiting New York by tram. Noticing how the driver had to either stop, get out, and clean the windscreen by hand, or keep both panes of the double front window open to prevent the sleet from obstructing his view, she got inspired.
In 1903 she was granted a 17-year patent for a windscreen wiper she designed, consisting of a hand-operated lever inside the vehicle that controlled a rubber blade on the outside of the windscreen.
4. Kevlar tyres
The 1960s saw American chemist Stephanie Louise Kwolek tasked with creating a fuel-efficient alternative for steel reinforcements in car tyres for the DuPont Company. This led to the invention of Kevlar, a lightweight polymer fibre, stronger than steel.
Kevlar is also used in boats, aeroplanes, protective building materials, and even bullet-proof vests.
5. Wireless transmission technology
Austrian actress, Hedy Lamarr’s discovery of radio frequency hopping (to avoid someone jamming a signal) set the technological foundation of today’s wi-fi, GPS and Bluetooth.
It was used as a secret wartime communication system that could keep the enemy from interfering.
She received a patent in 1942 but donated it to the US military to help fight the Nazis.
6. The car heater
Perhaps not a safety feature as such, but tribute needs to be paid to legendary American mechanical engineer Margaret A Wilcox, who invented the first car heater.
In 1893, she received the patent for her system which simply directed air over the engines into the cabin of the vehicle, making all the difference to winter travellers – especially those aristocrats!
