4 Safety Features that You Should Utilize

1.     Choose a safe vehicle.
When we buy cars we have many things to consider: we worry about gas efficiency, comfort, and how a car looks.  Unfortunately, safety can get pushed to the side.  However, safety should obviously be our first priority.  Certain vehicles have tendencies to flip over in the event of an accident; others with soft-tops that make falling out of a vehicle during an accident a legitimate threat.  Wonder if the car you want is safe?  Try going to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) website; they release yearly reports on the safest cars available.  This year, a Chrysler model was named the number one safety pick and all of Subaru’s car models were chosen as top safety picks.

2.    Wear a seat belt.
Every car is required to come equipped with seat belts.  However, actually wearing the seat belt is a whole other story.  Surprisingly, 12 percent of drivers still do not wear their seat belt; others do not wear their seat belt correctly.  In 2007, 42 percent of those killed in an auto accident were not wearing their seat belt.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 15,000 lives per year are saved by seat belts.  Buckle up.

3.    Airbags.
Cars are federally required to have airbags; however, side airbags are not required.  The IIHS found that 83 percent of cars come equipped with head/torso side airbags as a standard safety feature; about 9 percent come standard with either head or torso side airbags.  About 4 percent of cars offer optional side airbag options, and another 4 percent do not offer side airbags at all.  About 33 percent of car accident fatalities are the result of side impact.  Be sure that your next car either comes with side airbags, or has the option for you to add them to the car; it could save your life.

4.    Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
The IIHS defines ESC as, “a vehicle control system comprised of sensors and a microcomputer that continuously monitors how well a vehicle responds to a driver’s steering input, selectively applies the vehicle brakes, and modulates engine power to keep the vehicle traveling along the path indicated by the steering wheel position.”

ESCs reduce the risk of:

• Fatal single-vehicle crashes by 49 percent.
• Fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by 20 percent for cars and SUVs.
• Fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 75 percent for SUVs.
• Fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 72 percent for cars.

As of 2011 ESCs come standard in:

• 90 percent of cars.
• 100 percent of SUVs.
• 72 percent of pickups.

If you are considering a new car or pick-up, be sure to ask if ESC comes standard.