safety car

noun

, Nautical.

1. life car.

Word History and Origins

Origin of safety car¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Masi chose to deploy the safety car, which would slow the field and force the cars to follow in a specific line while still clinging to the possibility that the drivers could resume racing before they ran out of laps.

From FiveThirtyEight

That changed in 1993, when F1 got over its case of "not invented here" and adopted the safety car, calling on the service for the first time at that year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

From Ars Technica