Abstract
First this paper reviews evolution of automotive safety technology since 1960's when the US government compiled the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and advocated worldwide research on automotive safety called Experimental Safety Vehicle Project. Then after discussing real world effectiveness of safety measures developed and problems remain unsolved along with risks emerging from the recent traffic environment, it is concluded that, in the 21st century instead of crash safety, preventive safety should be emphasized in order to cope with both traffic safety and global environmental protection.
