Safety Features to Look For When Purchasing a Car

Hi, I’m Steve Hammes from DriveTime.

Shopping for safety features on new cars reveals that recent advances not only protect vehicle occupants in the event of a crash, but can also prevent accidents from happening.

Many drivers are now familiar with air bags, anti-lock braking systems, electronic stability and traction control.  Tire pressure monitoring systems are mandated equipment all cars manufactured since late 2002.

Families who have purchased a new vehicle in the US since then may also be familiar with the LATCH system, designed to help ensure that child safety seats are installed correctly.

Other recent innovations include backup cameras, which can show obstacles behind a vehicle while in reverse and pedestrian detection systems which can apply a car’s brakes if the driver does not react to a detected pedestrian in the road.

Adaptive Cruise Control uses radar or lasers to maintain driving speed.

The lane departure system alerts a driver to lane wandering without activated turn signals.

Finally, if an accident cannot be avoided, Active Head Restraints change their adjustment automatically to help prevent neck injury.