5 Safety Features Every Car Should Have

When shopping for a new car the safety of that vehicle and the
features it uses to keep all occupants safe is the most important
thing to look for. Before purchasing a car make sureto check for these
5 things,and if the car doesn't have them, consider looking elsewhere.
1. Crash-Test Ratings. Boththe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
(IIHS) and the government's National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) put every vehicle through rigorous crash-tests
to identify how safe the vehicle is. The IIHS puts vehicles through
three different tests to determine the vehicles stability and occupant
protection. They test the vehicle in a 40 mphfrontal offset crash,
side crash and rear crash. Cars tested by the IIHS are also given
rollover ratings and bumper evaluations. Each year a Top Safety Pick
list is put together by the IIHS and vehicles on this list areby the
far the safest on theroads.
The NHTSA puts all vehiclesthrough similar tests to testthe vehicles
structure and ability to protect its occupants. The NHTSA usesa full
frontal and side impacttest and scores the vehicles on a five-star
scale, with fewer starts indicating a greater probability of serious
injury. The full frontal testsis a good indicator of how well the seat
belts and air bags protect passengers inthe vehicle.
2. Accident avoidance. Today's technology equips vehicles with
multiple features that can aid in accident avoidance. When searching
for a new car it'simportant to check that the car is equipped with
this different safety features.
Electronic stability control (ESC) is designed to help drivers
maintain vehicle control on its intended path during sharp turns to
prevent it from sliding or skidding. The IIHS estimatesif all vehicles
had electronicstability control up to 10,000 lives could be saved
annually. ESC is a helpful feature on all vehicles but especially in
SUVs that are easier to rollover, and rollover resistance is another
safety feature to keep in mind when shopping. To help consumers
determine the vehicles rollover resistance the NHTSA performs a
rollover test and scores vehicles with a Rollover Resistance Rating.
This rating calculates the vehicle's static stability factor, a number
based on the vehicles center of gravity and width. This rating
combined with a dynamic rollover test performed with moving vehicles
can tell consumers how likely a vehicle is to rollover.
An anti-lock braking systemis standard on almost all vehicles today
due to its importance during emergency stops. ABS will prevent a
driver from losing control and allowing the car to swerve during a
panic stop. This feature is very helpful in avoiding rear end crashes.
3. Air bags. All new passenger vehicles are required to have dual
front air bags; but the sophistication of these systems can vary. When
searching for new cars lookfor vehicles that have a "smart" air bag
system. These systems use factors such as position of the seat,
severity of the crash and weight of the seat occupants. Based on these
factors the air bags will deploy with more or less force or not at all
if there isno passenger or the front passenger is too short. Side
curtain airbags are also becoming more popularin new vehicles. These
air bags deploy from the headliner and covers both the front and rear
windows.These airbags help in protecting the head during a crash.
4. Child safety. All cars today come with a universalsystem called
LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) which is designed to
make attachment of child seats easier and more secure. When looking at
new cars make sure to test your current child seat in the vehicle and
find a vehicle that is compatible with your child's seat. Another
factor to consider in child safety is power windows. There have been
instances where children have activated the power window while leaning
out of it and have been injured orkilled. The best types of switches
are ones that are flush with the surrounding trim and only raise the
window when pulled up.
5. Head restraints. Whip-lash is a very common injury during a rearend
collision and head restraints are vital for guarding against this. The
proper height of a head restraint should be tall enough to cushion the
headjust above the top of the spine. Look for head restraints that
lock in position; otherwise those that don't could be forced down in a
crash and lose effectiveness.
Shopping for a new car can be a challenging process, but when you know
what you are looking for the job gets a little easier. Make sure to
check for all of these safety features and consider vehicles that
haveall of them.