I don’t care if you are a young person who likes fast cars, or a retired senior who likes to stay under the speed limit. We all need to have some knowledge some basic knowledge about how safe our car is before we consider buying it. More important, safety should be a major consideration when we go looking for a replacement.
Just recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the Fiat 500 as the TOP SAFETY PICK award. An interesting fact about the 2012 Fiat 500 is price. It sells in the $15,500 to $20,000 range. The first look at this Fiat has raised my attention. We will be looking at it in more detail come January 2012.
When shopping for any new or used replacement vehicle is the online reviews of cars. There I can get some sense as to what is vehicles have the highest safety rating. It is interesting to note, unless a certain vehicles has an extremely good or extremely bad safety rating, the reviewer usually don’t say anything.
The vehicles loaded with a lot of safety features will cost you more than one that meets the minimum government safety requirements. So for practicability must people shop for a balance between the two.
When it comes to automobile safety SaferCar.gov covers a lot of information. In fact the website can overload you with vehicle safety information. Some of the sub topics covered include child safety seats, tires, rollover test, and much more.
Among the safety experts there is some discussion if larger cars are safer than smaller fuel efficient cars. If I have to put my trust in the hands of the other drive, I would rather a larger car. If I am more in control of my driving, I would go with a small more fuel efficient car. Then there is the area and conditions where I am driving.
The five factors, for me, determine if a vehicles is safe enough for me to drive. These five little things are pretty much universal for any location and any driving condition when it comes to car safety. If all five of these are not present, I consider it serious driving hazard.
Visibility – The design of the windows and divider create serious blinds spots in some vehicles. Vehicles built higher off the ground tend to offer a better view of traffic. Seating low in the driver seat will reduce visibility. Then driving conditions like fog, snow, rain or even glaring sun light will impede visibility.
Stability/Handling - How a vehicle handles in turns or making a quick evasive maneuver will make the difference between getting home safe or stopping by the hospital. Most modern vehicle have ESC as an important safety feature. The NHTSA website now maintains a list of vehicles with stability control.
Tires - Good tires are just as important to how the vehicles grips the road while turning , stopping or starting. A good quality tire can improve stopping distances, especially in poor weather. Snow and Rain tires can improve performance greatly in those conditions. Tire quality on new vehicles varies greatly, that is why good research should be done on the tires be buying. Make sure they are design for your driving conditions.
Braking - If you cannot stop the vehicle you are driving you will be hitting things you will later regret. Good braking is critical for safety. Shorter the stopping distance the better your chances in preventing an accident. Remember, heavier vehicles take longer to stop.
Acceleration - Emergency acceleration can sometimes help avoid an accident. Slow acceleration on to the freeway or merging into traffic is making yourself a hazard on the roadway. It is very important to get on the roadway, get up to speed of surrounding cars, and maintain your speed with the flow of traffic.
Bottom-line: It does matter how many safety features my car has. It also matters how the driver (me), the road conditions, and other drivers affect how I get from point A to point B. It is like what I learned in Driver’s Education, “Drive defensively”. I must not put my trust in the other driver. He or she may do the wrong thing.
I must watch out for both of us. I must keep my car with all the safety features in the best possible condition. If I don’t I will be putting myself and those around me at risk.
