How to Shop for a Safe Car

Car crashes claimed more than 34,000 lives in 2012 according to estimates from the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA), an increase of 5.3 percent over 2011. While the best way to minimize the effects of motor vehicle accidents is to prevent them from happening in the first place, the second best way is to drive safer cars.

Every new car must meet certain federal safety standards, but that doesn’t mean that all cars are created equal. Many automakers offer safety features beyond the required federal limits, so it’s important to consider this when purchasing a new or used vehicle. Auto safety features are constantly being refined and updated, so newer model vehicles are generally safer than older models.

As of the 1999 model year, the federal government required automakers to install driver and passenger airbags for frontal protection in all cars, light trucks, and vans. Some automakers also install side airbags, which are designed to protect your chest but may also keep your head from hitting interior or intruding structures.

Airbags used in conjunction with lap/shoulder belts have been shown to reduce the risk of fatal injury by 50 percent. However, in some circumstances, inflating airbags can cause injuries and even death. The greatest risk of injury is if you are very close to an airbag when it starts to inflate. Choose a car that allows you to reach the gas and brake pedals comfortably, while keeping a distance of at least twelve inches from the steering column. Also, never place a rear-facing car seat or a child under 12 years of age in a seat equipped with an airbag.

Head restraints are required in front seats of all new passenger cars to prevent neck injury during a rear end crash. Head restraints vary widely – some are fixed, while others are adjustable. They also vary in height and how far they are set back from the head. Look for cars that have a restraint that fits directly behind and close to the back of your head. If the restraints are adjustable, make sure they can be locked into place to prevent them being pushed down in a crash.

Other safety features many car manufacturers now employ are anti-lock brakes and daytime running lights. Unlike conventional brakes, anti-lock braking systems pump the brakes automatically many times a second to prevent lockup and allow you to keep control of the car. If you were trained to brake gently on slippery roads or pump your brakes to avoid a skid, you will need to unlearn these habits with anti-lock brakes, and use a hard continuous pressure to come to a safe stop.

Daytime running lights are a crash avoidance feature new to vehicles sold in America, but they’ve been used for years in Canada and Scandinavia. Daytime running lights are activated by the ignition switch and help prevent crashes by making vehicles more conspicuous.

Offered on a handful of 1995 domestic and foreign model passenger cars, pickups, and sport utility vehicles, daytime running lights are now commonplace. They are standard on all GM, Lexus, Saab, Suzuki, Volkswagen, and Volvo models, as well as some Toyota models.

Other important factors to consider when shopping for a safe car are the vehicle’s structural design and the vehicle’s size and weight. A good structural design has a strong passenger compartment, as well as front and rear ends designed to buckle and bend in a collision to absorb the force of the crash.

Larger and heavier cars sustain a crash better than lighter and smaller ones. In fact, small cars have twice as many occupant deaths each year as large cars. Small utility vehicles and pickups are prone to rolling over, so they require extra care when driving on slippery roads and when making turns. “High performance” cars typically have higher-than-average death rates because the drivers are tempted to use excessive speed. Combining a young driver and a high-performance car can be particularly dangerous.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety regularly perform crash tests to determine an automobile’s safety. For more information, or to see how certain vehicles performed in the tests, visit their website here.


The Insurance Information Network of California (IINC) is a nonprofit, non-lobbying communications association representing the property/casualty insurance industry. For more information, visit their website.

Insurance Information Network of California (IINC)
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Gayle Anderson KTLA 5 News, Los Angeles.