SAFETY FACTOR:

CAR SAFETY
 • 
• A vehicle’s safety depends on several factors, including its
make, model, year and size. Newer cars come equipped with
advanced safety features like more airbags, electronic
stability, crash avoidance technology and bodies engineered
to reduce rollover.
• 
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found
that collision fatalities in late-model vehicles have
dropped by more than a third in the past three years. The
IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) evaluate crashworthiness – or how well a vehicle
protects its occupants during a crash
 Here are six things to
consider when looking at
car safety
• SIZE MATTERS
• BODY BUILD
• TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING
SYSTEM
• AIRBAG SAFETY
• ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL
• CRASH AVOIDANCE
 SIZE MATTERS
• The size of your vehicle plays a major
role in safety. Smaller cars tend to be
lighter and don’t provide as much
protection for the driver. Heavier vehicles
are less affected by collisions, but they
take longer to stop.
• 
• Minivans have the lowest collision fatality
rate and offer occupants better protection
from injury with a driver death rate of 25
per million, according to the IIHS,. Pick-
up trucks average around 52 deaths per
million. Cars have a death rate of 56 per
million, while 4-door mini-cars average 82
deaths per million.
 BODY BUILD
• The size of your vehicle plays a major
role in safety. Smaller cars tend to be
lighter and don’t provide as much
protection for the driver. Heavier vehicles
are less affected by collisions, but they
take longer to stop.
• 
• Minivans have the lowest collision fatality
rate and offer occupants better protection
from injury with a driver death rate of 25
per million, according to the IIHS,. Pick-
up trucks average around 52 deaths per
million. Cars have a death rate of 56 per
million, while 4-door mini-cars average 82
deaths per million.
 TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING
SYSTEMS
• Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems
(TPMS) became mandated in 2007. TPMS
alert the driver when tire pressure
is irregular through a display light
or gauge on the instrumental panel.
It’s important to keep your tires
properly inflated to the
manufacturer’s specifications to
help prevent tire blowouts. NHTSA
estimates that this safety feature
can prevent upwards of 79 deaths and
10,365 injuries each year in the
United States.
 AIRBAG SAFETY
• Airbags have been a standard requirement in all
passenger vehicles since 1999. IIHS research shows
that front airbags reduce driver fatality in frontal
crashes by 29 percent. Front passenger airbags have
become safer with the use of weight sensors, and
NHTSA data shows this enhancement saves lives,
reducing front passenger collision fatalities by 32
percent.
• Newer vehicles have incorporated side airbags to
protect the driver’s head from hitting the window in
driver-side crashes – the IIHS found that these
additional airbags reduce driver death by 37 percent
in cars and 52 percent in SUVs. Some vehicles on the
market also have rear-window curtain airbags to
protect individuals riding in the backseats, and
front center airbags to prevent the driver and
passenger from colliding into one another in the
event of a collision.
ELECTRONIC STABILITY
CONTROL
• Electronic stability control
(ESC) was first introduced in
1996. ESC uses speed sensors to
allow each wheel of the vehicle
to brake individually, which is
the foundation of anti-lock
brakes. Rotation and steering
sensors detect the vehicle’s
position and auto-adjust the
brakes on the wheel, giving the
driver more control.
 CRASH AVOIDANCE
• Crash avoidance technology includes several systems that can greatly
reduce the risk and severity of collisions – adaptive cruise control,
adaptive headlines, back-up cameras, blind spot monitors and front
crash prevention systems.
• Adaptive cruise control maintains a safe distance from vehicles you
are following and even includes built-in autonomous steering and
braking should a collision be imminent.
• Adaptive headlights move with the curves of the road, lighting up
the direction your vehicle is traveling.
• Blind spot detection warns the driver that an object is present in a
blind spot by illuminating a light on your side view mirror.
• Front crash prevention alerts drivers to potential obstacles ahead
of the vehicle and apply brakes if needed.
• Back-up cameras (mandatory in all new models by 2018) and sensors
help reduce the chances that a driver will back into an object,
vehicle or person.
• Collision safety technology has advanced in the last six to eight
years and because of this, newer vehicles equipped with modern
features are inherently safer than their older counterparts. The
bottom line: new technology lowers the chances of collisions, injury
and death.