safety pad

Is here anyone to exlain what does "safety pad" mean in the
expression:" instrument panel safety pad"? What does it look like?
What material is it made of? Why does it anything to do with safety?
I am not a native user of English, that's why I'm asking.
Adam

On 30 Dec 2005 02:16:45 -0800, [email]aabacus@tlen.pl[/email] wrote:
[color=blue]
>Is here anyone to exlain what does "safety pad" mean in the
>expression:" instrument panel safety pad"? What does it look like?
>What material is it made of? Why does it anything to do with safety?
>I am not a native user of English, that's why I'm asking.
>Adam[/color]


I think that it refers to the soft, plastic covered, foam material
that is normally used on the fascia panel, which surrounds the
instrument cluster.

In the old days, before air-bags, this used to be a solid surface and
was considered to be very dangerous in the event of a crash.

Thanks for your answer.
A.

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 12:48:52 +0000, David J <david@btelecom.invalid>
wrote:[color=blue]
>On 30 Dec 2005 02:16:45 -0800, [email]aabacus@tlen.pl[/email] wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Is here anyone to exlain what does "safety pad" mean in the
>>expression:" instrument panel safety pad"? What does it look like?
>>What material is it made of? Why does it anything to do with safety?
>>I am not a native user of English, that's why I'm asking.[/color]
>
>I think that it refers to the soft, plastic covered, foam material
>that is normally used on the fascia panel, which surrounds the
>instrument cluster.
>
>In the old days, before air-bags, this used to be a solid surface and
>was considered to be very dangerous in the event of a crash.[/color]

Up till the late 1950's the entire dashboard area of an automobile
was painted stamped steel, like a fender. With cut-outs for the
instrument cluster, glovebox, and the radio.

The padded dashboard was a great improvement - at first, they just
put an inch of stiff foam and a molded vinyl cover. That alone cut
down on minor facial injuries tremendously. Now they're using
engineered plastics designed to absorb quite a bit of energy without
damage or hurting the person impacting it too badly.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
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