When shopping for a new car, people look for different things. Some people look for style or fuel economy. Some look for electric cars. Others look for service vehicles like trucks and vans. Safety features are often assumed or overlooked by a car shopper.
Newer cars come loaded with some wonderful safety features. These features were once only used on luxury models. Now, these come standard on many newer cars and are among the most important features to consider when purchasing a car. If you are ever involved in a car accident, these safety features could save your life.
Here are the four most important safety features to look for when making your next car purchase.
Airbags
Airbags are not without controversy; many have been recalled over the past few years. However, you would be hard-pressed to think of a more important safety feature for the driver and front passenger than functioning airbags. Most newer cars come equipped with airbags as a standard feature.
Airbags work best when coupled with seatbelt use. Many cars have both side and front airbags that will deploy in moderate to severe crashes. When deployed, they prevent the driver or front seat passenger from slamming into the steering column, dashboard, and side panel.
When looking at cars with airs, make sure to check regarding the type of airbags used in the car. Make sure the type used has not been recalled. You should also make sure that you can turn off the front passenger air bag. When children ride in the front passenger seat, airbags are dangerous.
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Electronic Stability Control
Electronic stability control (ESC) is a feature that now comes standard in all model years 2012 and later. It can be critical when a driver makes a sudden turn to avoid an accident, or when a driver misjudges the degree of the curve they are approaching. In those cases, the car approaches the limits of road traction. As a result, the driver can lose control of the vehicle as it either spins out or plows out of control.
Electronic stability control helps keep the vehicle moving in the driver’s intended direction. The feature works with sensors that pick up signals from such things as wheel speed, sideways motion, and the car’s steering wheel angle and applies brakes to the wheels to prevent the loss of road traction which leads to skidding or slipping on the road. A vehicle’s traction control system is often a secondary function of its electronic stability control system.
Anti Lock Brakes
Anti Lock brakes work to prevent brakes from locking or freezing up when a driver applies the brakes suddenly on a wet or slippery surface. The brakes use sensors on the wheels that will pulse the brakes instead of locking them. This ensures more road traction and helps the driver maintain more control over the car.
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Lane Departure Warning
One of the newest and most useful bits of safety technology in newer cars is a lane departure warning. It is a system that will alert the driver of an unintended drifting into another lane. It works by using a small camera that is mounted near the rear-view mirror. The camera “watches” the solid and striped lines in the lanes to the sides ahead of the vehicle. If a vehicle starts to drift toward one of the lanes, it causes an alert. The alert may be a vibration in the driver’s seat or a noise.
In some vehicles, the lane departure warning comes with technology that will automatically adjust the steering to keep the car within the center of the lane. In other models, the system merely moves the car away from the lane marker and the driver must re-center the car within the lane.
This safety feature does not usually come as a standard feature. But the cost of the technology has declined sufficiently that you can now find many cars with the technology already packaged in the vehicle.
No safety feature can take the place of driver attention and vigilance. But it is nice to know that your vehicle can help protect you in a car accident, should that happen to you. If you are involved in a crash, you will likely be less injured, and that can make all the difference. Know that should you need help after an accident, you should always consult with a trusted personal injury attorney. Whatever the cause of your accident, make sure to get the help you need.
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Contact the Houston Car Accident Lawyers at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers For Help
For more information, contact the Houston personal injury law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers at (713) 500-5000.
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About the Author Brian White
Brian White earned his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in Houston and is licensed to practice in Texas. He is a Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer.
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