Remember the old days when power steering in a vehicle was the only safety feature offered? Fast forward 50 years to self-parking and self-driving cars and coming soon, flying cars! Proven safety features are worth their weight in silver, as they have drastically reduced the amounts of both minor and major car accidents over the past decades; however, are car safety features worth the money, or are they merely just hidden costs associated with your new purchase?
Car safety features have indeed made life a little easier when it comes to reversing, or seeing your blind spots; nevertheless, they have made repairs more complicated if you should get into a fender bender or even a simple chip in your windshield. For the sake of this blog, technology packages such as digital screens and hands-free communication will not be included.
If you are researching car safety features, Consumer Reports (CR), is the best place to start as they are working to make car safety systems commonplace for all drivers, not just high-end vehicles. According to CR, the top four car safety features worth the money are:
- Lane Departure Warning (LDW): LDW provides drivers with an audible, visual, or tactile warning when a driver crosses lane marking (without a turn signal), or if another vehicle approaches. LDW can be extremely useful for drivers but was also reported to be the most annoying.
- Blind Spot Warning (BSW): BSW provides a visual cue on side mirrors to indicate when another vehicle or object is in your blind spot. BSW has greatly reduced lane changing accidents, especially, in big SUV’s with big blind spots.
- Front Collision Warning (FCS) and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB): FCS provides drivers with an audible, visual, or tactile warning when a car or object is detected in its path to avoid an impending collision. If the driver does not react in time, the vehicles AEB initiates, reducing or stopping the collision.
There is a “price to this peace of mind,” which is why car safety features are often overlooked by car buyers. CR has teamed up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to push automakers to make these safety features standard. Are car safety features worth the money? That’s up to you, but you won’t be disappointed with these top four car safety features.
Source:
https://www.consumerreports.org/automotive-technology/car-safety-systems-that-could-save-your-life/