New Safety Features Save Lives
Getting a new or used vehicle anytime soon? Make sure it has two important new safety features that have proven to be lifesavers. If you want to save money, get these instead of high-priced add-ons that add little or no value and won’t save your wallet--or your life.
Roughly one-third of fatalities and serious injuries occur in side impacts. Typical scenario: You are driving through an intersection, minding your own business, and a distracted SUV driver on a cell phone runs a red light and T-bones your car. When the SUV slams into your car, your head smashes through the side window, striking the hood of the intruding SUV. Disastrous.
Best way to protect yourself, short of staying home or taking the train? Get side air bags that are designed to protect heads. They inflate on impact, and keep heads from smashing into windows or intruding hoods. They also serve to fill the space between heads and the side of the car, reducing the risk of what doctors call “closed head injuries.” Those occur when the brain is damaged due to being violently shaken.
Safety experts at the respected Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examined real-world crash results and concluded that head-protecting side air bags are reducing driver deaths in cars struck on the driver’s side by an estimated 37%. (Air bags that protect only the chest and abdomen but not the head are reducing deaths by 26%.)
The government does not yet require head-protecting side impact air bags. So you have to seek them out. Some manufacturers offer them as a separate option, for about $500--$800, making them more affordable. Other manufacturers sell them only as a package with frivolous overpriced add-ons, such as deluxe steering wheel covers and fabric protection, costing $2000 or more. You’ll get a better deal if you choose a vehicle that includes the head-protecting side air bags without all the extra add-ons.
For model-by-model information about what 1996-2006 vehicles include side head-protection air bags, go to:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/side_airbags/side_airbags.aspx
Electronic stability control (ESC)
This lifesaving technology helps you keep control of your vehicle during emergency maneuvers or on slippery pavement. Electronic stability control is enormously effective at reducing the risk of fatalities in single-vehicle crashes and rollovers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, ESC can prevent nearly 33% of all fatal crashes and reduce rollover risks by as much as 80%. Very few safety technologies have such a tremendous impact in saving lives and preventing injuries.
If you drive an SUV or pickup truck, with a higher center of gravity, ESC is even more important. While all vehicles are safer with ESC than without it, SUVs and pickups are more prone to rollover crashes, and the added stability control system makes a crucial difference. If you have teenage drivers in your family, it’s a good idea to ensure that the vehicles they drive include ESC, since they face an elevated risk of losing control at some point, as they learn to drive.
As a separate option, ESC costs between around $300--$800. But if the manufacturer packages it with unnecessary, high-priced add-ons, it can cost $2000 or more. If you shop around, you can find many new and used vehicles with ESC as standard equipment.
Some manufacturers sell less effective products under similar names, which can be confusing. If you are buying a new vehicle, make sure you are actually getting ESC. Check the sticker on the vehicle and read the owner’s manual carefully before you buy. The manual should describe in detail how the ESC functions. If you are buying a used vehicle, make sure to have it inspected by a trusted technician before you buy, to confirm that it really has ESC. Some dealers have been known to claim a vehicle has it, when it was actually never installed.