Auto Talk

Shopping for Safety in a Vehicle
by Jim Addison

     Safety in a vehicle involves two areas. The first component is the safety of a vehicle's construction, known as crashworthiness. The second area is found in a vehicle's package of safety features, including air bags, anti-lock brakes, seat belts, traction control, head restraints, daytime running lights and child passenger equipment.
     Crashworthiness is designed into a vehicle, resulting from how it is built. Basically, the better the crashworthiness, the less risk of serious injury or death. Therefore crashworthiness should be considered the most important factor in your buying decision. Good structure design includes a strong passenger compartment and crush zones in the front and rear of the car. Cars are not designed equally when it comes to crashworthiness; some have crush zones that are too stiff or too short, while others have passenger compartments, that are not strong enough. A crashworthy vehicle absorbs the energy before it begins to distort the passenger compartment, greatly increasing the risk of serious injury or death. In general, larger cars are more crashworthy because they have longer crush zones, which will absorb more of the impact of the collision. As a percentage, small cars have twice as many occupant deaths in crashes as large cars. However, many small vehicles maneuver better than larger cars, trucks or SUVs, and may be better at avoiding a crash.
     Crash tests are conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the results are published in the booklet, "Buying a Safer Car 2000" and online at their Web site, www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Two types of crash tests are done. One involves crashing a car into a stationary barrier at 35 mph, which simulates a head-on collision with another car of the same weight. The second test simulates a side impact: a 3,015-pound barrier moves at 38.5 mph into a standing vehicle. Chest and head injuries are the most common injuries that result from side collisions. In both of these crash tests, the cars are rated according to chance of serious injury. On the NHTSA Web site you can view pictures of front and side impacts on each vehicle tested. Safety ratings are from one to five stars, with five being the least likely to sustain serious injury or death.
     The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute also maintains a Web site where you can view crash test photos with results and ratings. At www.hwysafety.org, crash test vehicles are rated from poor to good regarding safety cages and injuries to head/neck, chest and each leg and foot.


OTHER SAFETY FEATURES

Seat Belts
     There are a number of variables on seat belt design. Some have height adjustments for the shoulder strap. Others have pretensioners that reel in the excess slack in a collision. Some belts are designed to "give" during a collision to keep the energy forces from exerting too much pressure on the person's chest. Of all safety features, seat belts are the best protection in a crash.

Air Bags

     Air bags have been around for about 40 years, but were not common until federal law mandated their use in the late 80s and early 90s. Front driver and passenger air bags are standard equipment on all 2001 and newer model vehicles. There are also side air bags and air bags for head injury protection on side collisions. A child's car seat should not be installed in front of an air bag; the rear seat is safest for children 12 years of age and under. Always sit at least 10 inches from an air bag.

Anti-lock Brakes

     Anti-lock brakes keep a vehicle from skidding, which allows steering control during panic braking. Be aware, however, that oversteering or jerking the wheel while applying brakes can lead to crashes. All passenger cars with ABS are equipped with four-wheel ABS. SUVs, trucks and vans can have two- or four-wheel ABS. Two-wheel ABS only works on the rear wheels and does not maintain steering control if the front wheels skid. Take time to learn about this safety feature.

Head Restraints
     The top of the head restraint should reach a point between your ears and the top of your head. If adjustable, lock them in the adjusted position. Finally, when shopping for a vehicle, pay attention to how things fit you. Can you reach the pedals comfortably while staying at least 10 inches away from the air bag? Does the seat belt fit and go across your chest? Is it adjustable? Does the vehicle have good visibility all the way around?


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