Safety First
In response to increasing public concern about automobile safety, many manufacturers are designing vehicles that incorporate crash protection and safety features beyond the minimum Federal standards. Key questions to ask when looking to buy a safer car are:
What features does this vehicle have that will help you avoid a crash
How well does this vehicle protect you during a crash?
What is the likelihood of this vehicle rolling over?
What other types of safety features does this vehicle have?
Safety Belts
Safety belts remain one of the most important safety features in your vehicle. In the event of a crash, safety belts are designed to keep you inside the vehicle and reduce the risk you will hit the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. Available additional features of safety belts include adjustable upper belts, safety belty pretensioners, energy management features, integrated safety belt systems, safety belt extenders and a safety belt reminder system.
Anti-lock Brake Systems (ABS)
Anti-lock brake systems (ABS) help prevent a vehicle's wheels from locking during "panic" braking, which allows the driver to maintain greater steering control as the vehicle is quickly slowed - a key factor in avoiding a collision. However, the ABS does not guarantee you will avoid a crash. In fact, you may lose control when driving at excessive speeds or during extreme steering maneuvers.
All passenger cars equipped with ABS have four wheel ABS. SUVs, trucks, and vans equipped with ABS may have either four-wheel or two-wheel ABS. Four-wheel ABS monitors and controls all the wheels of the vehicle, whereas two-wheel ABS only monitors and controls the rear wheels. In vehicles with two-wheel ABS, the front wheels can still lock during hard or panic braking and this lockup can result in the loss of steering control. Some four-wheel ABS systems also include Brake Assist, which is only available with ABS systems. During emergency braking, this feature provides more brake power to help the driver achieve full brake-pedal force. Under certain conditions, Brake Assist can potentially reduce overall stopping distance by activating the braking system more quickly.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
A Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) uses a dashboard warning light to alert the driver when a tire is significantly under inflated - a leading cause of tire failure. At this time, these systems are available as a standard or optional feature on several passenger vehicles. However, NHTSA is currently developing a rule that will make them mandatory on future model year vehicles.
Frontal Air Bags
Depending on the severity of the crash, frontal air bags inflate to prevent occupants from hitting the steering wheel, dashboard, and windshield. Frontal air bags for both drivers and passengers have been standard equipment in all vehicles since 1998. Frontal air bags do not eliminate the need for safety belts and typically do not offer protection in rollovers, side-impact, or rear-end crashes. Air bag effectiveness depends upon the proper use of safety belts, which help keep you in place should a collision occur. Occupants who are unbelted or out-of-position can end up being seriously injured or killed if they are too close to the air bag when it deploys.
Advanced air bag systems are a next-generation frontal air bag system designed to further reduce the likelihood of serious injury or death to occupants, whether adults or children, who may be too close to the air bag when it deploys. Most advanced air bag systems use sensors that automatically detect the severity of the crash, the occupant's size, safety belt use, and/or seating position, and deploy the appropriate level of power to the driver and passenger frontal air bags.
Side Air Bags (SABs)
Side Air Bag (SAB) technology has advanced rapidly during recent years. SABs offer additional protection to two principal areas of the body - the head and the chest - during side-impact crashes.
Rollover Air Bags
With input from a separate rollover sensor, some SABs can be designed to also deploy as rollover air bags in the event of a rollover. Rollover air bags stay inflated longer to help keep you inside the vehicle. Ejection is the most common source of injuries and fatalities in rollover crashes. Rollover air bags along with properly worn safety belts reduce the risk of injury and ejection.
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