Is the world a more perilous place, or have we just become more aware of the dangers? Either way, experts in safety technology are always coming up with new ways to help us stay in one piece.

Armoured Car
From the outside it looks like a normal Mercedes saloon. But this car is special. If you shot at its windows with a high-powered rifle the bullets would bounce right off the toughened laminated glass, which is more than 2cm thick. The body, doors and floor have been strengthened by steel and carbon fibre to withstand explosions and gunfire. This is one of a new breed of civilian armoured cars being used increasingly by public figures from presidents to businessmen.

Toughening up a car costs tens of thousands of pounds. It can also add 1000 kg in extra weight. The military and police have used armoured vehicles for many years; here the steel casing is typically about 15mm thick.

Motorcycle Helmets
Motorcycle helmets are getting smart. One designer has developed a helmet that has a small display unit on the inside of the visor connected to a global positioning system. This tells the rider how fast the bike is travelling, without the rider having to take his or her eyes off the road. And it shows if an indicator is on and which gear the bike is in.

It’s also possible to have a helmet kitted out with a Bluetooth wireless headset to allow the rider to make and receive phone calls without having to use a handset.

Airbags
If you are unlucky enough to have a car crash, one piece of amazing explosive technology might just save you from serious injury: the air bag. When a car travelling at more than about 16km/h crashes a special sensor tells the airbag to inflate.

This is achieved by creating a small explosion. The sensor ignites a mixture of two chemicals which explode to create a large volume of nitrogen gas extremely rapidly – a bit like rocket fuel. The bag literally to bursts from where it is stored to cushion the occupant of the car – all within a fraction of a second.