Safety Engineering Case Study

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The goal to design a car that weighs 400kg, which is relatively light, will have a disadvantage during accidents with a regular car in that it will almost always experience the greater impact. In addition, due to the car’s limited weight and size, it is difficult to implement extensive safety systems, such as more airbags, automatic breaking, infrared night vision, emergency break assist … These safety issues triggered ethical questions that will be answered below. 1- Are the fundamental responsibilities of safety engineers compromised? I believe it is the safety engineers’ responsibility to put the safety of a car as a priority rather than its weight and gas consumption, since people expect a car in the market is designed to be safe, yet this …show more content…

Therefore, it is the company’s responsibility and duty to inform the public about safety issues that come with lightweight cars, and leave the people with the freedom to choose whether or not they buy this product. Even though this process might decrease sales, however; the company’s superiors must put themselves in a position where someone offered them a product without informing them of their dangerous sides and refuse to do things to others what they refuse to be done on themselves. Sustainable development (SD) is defined in the Brundtland Report as “development that meets the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Wikipedia, May 2014). According to this definition, there are different views to what a sustainable car is – should the car be recyclable, or lightweight, or should it not be built in the first place in order to be sustainable? (Missy Cummings, 2006). The questions and answers below might interpret whether or not a lightweight car is sustainable. 1- Are engineers ethically obligated to consider sustainability in their

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