Getting Another Car? Key Safety Features to Consider

car safety featuresToday’s cars are gradually becoming safer, as new car safety features are invented, improved or become standard equipment on more and more vehicles.

If you’re in the market for another car, you can help keep yourself and your family protected by choosing a vehicle with a full suite of safety features.

At one point, all car safety features were new inventions found only on the most advanced luxury vehicles. Many such features eventually became mandatory, or at least universally used. Such safety features include:

  • Seat belts
  • Anti-lock brakes
  • Front air bags
  • Tire pressure monitoring systems
  • Electronic stability control

There are other car safety features that you still have to search for.

  • Side air bags – These provide protection when someone hits your vehicle from the side. Look for “curtain” or “combination” side air bags.
  • Rollover air bags – An add-on feature to a car’s existing air bags, rollover protection senses when the car’s tipping over and keeps the airbags inflated longer to hold you in the car and keep glass or other debris out.
  • Smart air bag sensors – Many new cars will monitor the position of each seat and the size (weight) of the person sitting there, and adjust the way the air bags deploy to provide the best possible protection and avoid injuries from the air bags themselves.
  • Telematics – These are in-car GPS systems that connect with a monitoring service via the wireless networks. In the event of an accident, a telematics system can call for help and report your exact location to emergency responders, even if everyone in the car is unconscious.
  • Crash-avoidance systems – Among the most advanced car safety features today are the range of external (and sometimes internal) sensors which “see” what’s going on and actively help avoid accidents. Such crash-avoidance systems include blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and driver alertness monitoring.

Advanced car safety features are most likely to be found on newer vehicles, such as the lease transfer vehicles listed on Swapalease.com. If you’re looking to upgrade to a better, safer car, check with the leasing experts at Swapalease.com first.

Image via Shutterstock.com

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