The design of the vehicles takes into account the requirements of active and passive safety, which have received much attention in recent years.
Active vehicle safety is the sum of factors that help prevent accidents. These include: good stability and control, high traction qualities, effective and stable deceleration when braking, good visibility and comfort, ensuring minimal driver fatigue.
VAZ cars have good comfort, determined by the ease and convenience of control, shape, size, location and softness of the seats, providing a comfortable seating position for the driver, effective ventilation of the body, good visibility from the driver's seat, low noise in the cabin, minimal impact of vibrations and vibrations of the body.
The brakes of cars do not lose their efficiency after repeated braking from high speed and ensure the maintenance of the specified direction of movement during sharp braking by eliminating the locking of the rear wheels and minimal change in the efficiency of wet brakes. The vacuum booster used in the VAZ-2103 car ensures high braking efficiency with limited pedal force.
The reliability of the braking system is ensured by disc brakes on the front wheels and a separate drive, in which the main cylinder has two pistons: one for driving the front brakes, and the second for driving the rear ones. In this case, if one of the systems fails, the remaining one, although with less efficiency, ensures the braking of the car.
The high dynamics of the cars increases average speeds and makes maneuvering easier.
Narrow windshield pillars, absence of shiny surfaces in the driver's field of vision, rearview mirror sizes, windshield wiper cleaning area sizes, effective operation of front window washers at high speed and effective removal of glass fogging by the body heating system, and on the VAZ-2103 also ventilation in the rear window area provide good visibility on VAZ cars, and therefore safe driving conditions. To prevent the driver from being blinded by headlights of cars behind, interior rearview mirrors with "day" and "night" positions are used.
A triplex windshield, consisting of two layers of glass with a transparent plastic film between them, always remains transparent, unlike tempered glass, which, when broken, instantly becomes opaque, depriving the driver of the ability to see the road.
Seats with adjustable length and backrest angle, as well as conveniently located controls, improve the driver's working conditions.
Passive safety is a sum of factors aimed at reducing the consequences if an accident could not be avoided. These include:
- 1) ensuring the least deformation of the passenger compartment of the body during frontal and side impacts, as well as during rollover and rear impact;
- 2) seat belts, a safe steering wheel and safe interior body equipment that reduces injury to the driver and passengers;
- 3) safety of the external shape, without protruding elements that, in the event of a collision with a pedestrian or a one-sided collision with another vehicle, contribute to sliding;
- 4) standardization of fire safety of vehicles.
Nowadays, many countries have legislation on car safety. In addition, there are also safety requirements (rules) developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Today, the UNECE requirements are the minimum that the design of the relevant units or parameters of a vehicle must meet.
The design and execution of VAZ vehicles and their components generally comply with the relevant requirements (Rules) of the UNECE.
For example, headlights and incandescent lamps in them with asymmetrical low-beam lights are designed in such a way that the low-beam filament provides not blinding, but sufficient illumination, and the high-beam filament provides good illumination of the road. This meets Rules No.1 and 2.
Reflectors that are easy to clean, in terms of design, size, shape, as well as calorimetric, photometric, physical and mechanical properties, comply with Rule No.3.
The number plate lighting complies with Rule No.4, and the direction indicators, side lights, rear red lights and brake lights comply with Rules No.6 and 7 in terms of the intensity of the light emitted, its distribution and colour.
The exhaust system, in terms of external noise, measured according to the methodology of Rule No.9 both when the vehicle is moving and when it is stopped, meets the requirements imposed on vehicles.
To suppress radioelectric interference, vehicles are equipped with devices that, under normal operating conditions, comply with the requirements of Rule No.10.
Door hinges and door locks with latches, changed in 1974, comply with the strength requirements of Regulation No.11.
Medical and biological studies of maximum loads safe for the human body formed the basis for the steering safety requirements set out in the standards of the USA, Sweden, France and in the UNECE recommendations (Rule No.12).
The main requirements of UNECE Regulation No.9 12 are reduced to two provisions:
- 1) when testing a collision with a stationary obstacle of an unladen vehicle moving at a speed of 48.3 km/h, the upper part of the steering shaft must not move inside the body in a horizontal direction by more than 127 mm during dynamic movement of the steering control at the moment of impact.
- 2) during bench tests of impact of a dummy simulating the driver's torso against the steering wheel at a relative speed of 24.1 km/h, the force acting from the steering wheel in a horizontal direction and recorded on the "chest" of the dummy must not exceed 1135 kg.
Tests of VAZ vehicles confirmed that their steering system meets the requirements.
The locations, points of attachment of seat belts in terms of location, quantity, thread and strength comply with Rule No.14.
Since 1974, VAZ cars have complied with UNECE Regulation No.15, which regulates the toxicity of engine exhaust gases.
The strength of the seats and their attachment to the body, including the mechanisms for adjusting the backrest angle of cars produced since 1974, complies with Regulation No.17.
The front seat longitudinal movement locking systems and the seat back tilt adjustment mechanism can withstand inertial forces at an acceleration of 20 g.
The seat backs and seat back tilt adjustment mechanisms shall withstand the bending moment tests prescribed by Regulation No.17, and the seat attachment to the vehicle floor and the longitudinal movement locking system shall withstand a longitudinal horizontal force equal to 20 times the seat weight.
[The source is on the website VazBook]
The final test is carried out on the same seat in two stages: once the force is applied forward, the second time backward.
The design of the anti-theft device for cars complies with Rule No.18 and can withstand the required static moment of 20 kgf·m without damaging the control element that could pose a safety hazard.
The interior equipment of the vehicles and the arrangement of controls comply with UNECE Regulation No.21:
- 1) the front part of the passenger compartment is able to absorb the impact energy;
- 2) interior parts are trauma-safe: they have a streamlined shape and rounded edges;
- 3) the arrangement of controls, including the gearshift lever, handbrake lever and seat and backrest control handles, meets the requirements of the Rules;
- 4) the inside of the roof does not have any dangerous unevenness or sharp edges pointing backwards or downwards;
- 5) The rear of the seats does not have any dangerous bumps or protrusions, and the backs of the front seats dissipate the impact energy.
The reversing light on the VAZ-2103 car and intended to illuminate the road behind the car and to give a warning signal when reversing is designed so that under normal conditions of use it works properly, maintaining its characteristics, and the light emitted by the light in color (white), strength and distribution, meets Rules No.23.
The design of the external forms of the car fits into Rule No.26, which stipulates that the outer surface (if a ball with a diameter of 100 mm can touch it) should not have protruding sharp or cutting parts or projections.
Special provisions of these Rules stipulate requirements for the design of external decorative body parts, including headlight bezels, the design of grilles and bumpers, windshield wiper attachments, door handles and hinges, trunk and lid handles and buttons, filler holes and tank caps, wheel nuts, hub caps, gutters, body trim and jack insertion devices.
The rules do not apply to outside rear-view mirrors and accessories such as radio antennas and luggage racks (roof racks).
The sound alarm of VAZ vehicles and sound signals comply with the acoustic and mechanical characteristics of the requirements of Rule No.28.