Auto Safety Devices Worth Your Money
by Jerry Edgerton
Which of the often-expensive new technology might really save your life?
Cars and trucks have become a lot safer in the past decade, but some 43,000 people still die every year on U.S. highways. To be sure you and your family do not wind up among these statistics, you want the latest and best safety equipment available when you buy a new car. But unless you can afford a luxury car--where most safety gear will be standard--you will have to make choices about how much to spend on optional safety equipment.
Some state-of-the-art safety devices--such as side-impact air bags--aim to help you survive once an accident happens. Others--even better--help to control skids and other dangerous situations, aiming to avoid accidents entirely. To stay safe, you ideally need both preventive and protective equipment. New safety gear may be especially important if you are thinking about buying a sport utility vehicle (SUV). With their higher center of gravity, these vehicles are in more danger of rollover accidents--which cause about one-fourth of all traffic deaths.
Auto companies have put new safety technology on the road especially quickly in the past few years. Some new safety devices are indeed useful and good to have in your vehicle. But others could save your life and are crucial if you possibly can afford them. To offset the extra cost of new safety options, you may be able to get a discount on your insurance premiums for some of them. We'll run through some of the most important new technologies and look at which options are most worth your money.
Side air bags
Traditional front air bags don't help much when one vehicle strikes another in the side--a type of accident responsible for 9,000 deaths a year. But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety--a research organization funded by the insurance industry, based in Alexandria, Va.--found that side-impact air bags with protection for the head reduce death rates 45% for drivers whose side of the car is hit in such accidents. (That includes head-protecting air bags that drop down from overhead and those that pop up from the side of the seat). That number, drawn from real-world accident statistics, agrees with the Institute's crash test results showing that small SUVs with head-cushioning side air bags protected passengers much better in simulated side-impact crashes than did competitors without side air bags. Unfortunately, beyond luxury brands like BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz, side-impact air bags usually are optional. For instance, in the Ford Escape--a small SUV where crash test results improved dramatically in models equipped with side air bags--those air bags are optional for a list price of $345. On the Escape or other models, these bags can save lives and are well worth the money. To see which 2004 models offer side air bags, visit this Web site and click on the insert labeled "status report."The trivial task of making sure your tires have the right air pressure can have a major impact in averting danger.
Electronic stability control systems
Rollover accidents frequently start when a vehicle slides off the road and its wheels hit a curb or ditch, setting off a tip-over motion. Electronic stability controls (ESC)--with swift, automatic, computer-guided braking of selected wheels--stop skids and help keep that car, minivan, or SUV on the road. Luxury brands from Acura to Mercedes-Benz now put ESC systems as standard equipment on all or most of their models. At less-rarified price levels, it comes as optional equipment on many models, especially sport utilities.
For instance, the 2004 Ford Explorer--the best-selling SUV in the U.S.--offers its AdvanceTrac system as part of a $795 option package. If that sounds like a lot of money, remember that many Explorers already are selling for close to $30,000. On the bigger Chevrolet Suburban, General Motors' Stabilitrak system runs $750. Potentially saving your or your family members' lives seems worth at least that much.
Tire pressure monitors
The trivial task of making sure your tires have the right air pressure can have a major impact in averting danger. Underinflated tires were implicated in some of the rollover accidents involving Ford Explorers and Firestone tires. Being just five pounds per square inch below recommended pressure (27 psi, say, when the car manufacturer calls for 32) greatly increases the danger of tire failure--especially during long drives at high speed. Some luxury cars--from the Chevrolet Corvette sports car to the Acura MDX sport utility--now have monitors as standard equipment that will warn you if a tire falls below safe pressure.
Side-impact air bags with protection for the head reduce death rates 45% for drivers whose side of the car is hit.
Other cars offer monitors as an option--such as the Audi Allroad Quattro wagon, which charges $390. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is revising regulations that will require all new cars to have tire pressure monitors--probably by 2007 or so. In the meantime, whether you want to spend the money for the monitor depends on how diligent you can be about checking tire pressure regularly--say every two or three times you fill up your car with gas.
Antiwhiplash headrests
If another car hits yours from behind in even a minor accident, you can wind up with a whiplash injury to your neck and shoulders; the pain is anything but minor. Head restraints, often known as headrests, on the back of each seat, should help prevent whiplash. These adjustable restraints have long been required in cars, but recently a new generation of headrests goes further to prevent whiplash. Volvo and Saab--two traditional leaders in safety equipment--as well as some Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, and Infiniti models have so-called dynamic head restraint systems. These systems, sensing a crash impact, adjust the head restraint or seat back to lessen the motion of the head that produces whiplash.
Even some models without the new technology, however, protect your head in a rear-end crash better than others. The IIHS rates the effectiveness of head restraints based on their design and how close they are to the back of the head. For a rating of most models visit the Web site, and click on the insert called "status report." (The latest list is for 2003 models, but for many vehicles the design will still be the same.) This isn't a question of spending money for optional equipment, but choosing a vehicle with the best standard equipment. And on the car you have now, don't leave the head restraint in the "down" position. Adjust it so its top is just below the top of your head.
To stay safe, you ideally need both preventive and protective equipment.
As happened a decade ago with antilock brakes, new safety equipment often appears on luxury cars then eventually trickles down to less-expensive models. So what are the high-priced guys featuring now? New Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz models offer adaptive cruise control. This system slows down your car when it senses that it is getting too close to the car ahead. But it does it without shutting off the cruise control. That increases both safety and convenience, a good combination.
Jerry Edgerton is an automotive writer whose work has appeared in Money and other national magazines. He also is the author of the book "Car Shopping Made Easy".
March 1, 2004
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