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1912 Cadillac Two-Passenger Roadster, the self-starter redefined the automobile

GM’s long record of automotive safety firsts goes back longer than the company itself, when in 1901 Oldsmobile (which joined GM in 1908) introduced the first speedometer. Before that, drivers could only guess how fast they were going or how much they were accelerating.

Since then, GM has been a constant leader in safety innovation. Examples of the long list of GM safety “firsts” include:

• 1908, electric headlamps.
• 1912, the electric self-starter.
• 1924, the industry’s first proving ground facility, in Milford, Michigan.
• 1928, Safety Plate shatterproof window glass on all windows.
• 1967, the energy-absorbing steering column.
• 1972, the first large field test of the air bag.
• 1972, the Hybrid II series of crash test dummies and, in 1997, the Hybrid III series crash test dummies, which the U.S. government made the standard for all frontal crash testing.
• 1982, the first air bag child-test dummy.
• 1996, OnStar, the industry’s first embedded safety, security, and information system.
• 2006, the American industry’s first roll-over crash test facility.

The list goes on and on. And GM’s commitment to “Continuous Safety: Protection Before, During, and After a Crash” continues as we head into the future.

1972, Hybrid II series of crash test dummies

Helping to educate drivers and parents about child passenger safety in and around vehicles is a special GM focus. In 1996, GM partnered with Safe Kids Worldwide (formerly the National SAFE KIDS Campaign) to establish a program called Safe Kids Buckle Up. It’s now the longest-running and most comprehensive corporate/non-profit partnership focused on child safety in and around vehicles.

Safe Kids Buckle Up just checked its one millionth child safety seat. To learn more about Safe Kids Buckle Up — and to get the full story of GM’s “Continuous Safety” — go to the Web and access www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility/safety.

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