Most Important Safety Features Found in Modern Cars for Saving Lives
While people still sustain injuries in car accidents every year, modern cars are generally safer than vehicles built a few decades ago.
The innovative safety features in newer cars are credited by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with preventing crashes and reducing the severity of crashes.
Primary Safety Features of a Car
Some of the safety features found in modern cars:
- Airbags – Airbags deploy to prevent drivers and passengers from colliding with hard surfaces within a vehicle such as a dashboard, steering column, windows, or doors. While hitting an airbag can be an intense blow, it’s much softer than the impact from striking a hard surface inside the vehicle. All modern vehicles are equipped with airbags. But millions of vehicles have been recalled due to defective airbags in recent years. it’s important to make sure that the airbags in your vehicle haven’t been recalled.
- Anti-Lock Brakes — Anti-lock brakes are designed to ensure a vehicle’s wheels don’t lock if you suddenly have to apply the brakes. They work by applying brake force in quick pulses to different wheels, preventing all four wheels from locking up at once. If a vehicle’s wheels lock up, the driver can lose control on slippery surfaces, making it harder to avoid a collision.
- Electronic Stability Control — Since 2012, cars in the U.S. have been required to have electronic stability control systems. These systems monitor steering, wheel speed, and sideways motion. If the vehicle starts to deviate from the path the driver is steering, the system automatically applies brake pressure in certain spots to keep you in control.
- Adaptive Headlights — Adaptive headlights check a vehicle’s elevation to make small changes to the angle at which light is emitted. This helps visibility for the driver of the car and minimizes glare for drivers coming the other way. Some adaptive headlights can also track a vehicle’s sideways motion and steering angle to peek around corners, offering drivers better visibility.
- Traction Control — Traction controls limit how much your wheels can spin when accelerating. This helps your vehicle maintain maximum traction and avoid skids, even on wet or slick roads. Traction control systems usually work with your anti-lock brakes to apply brake pressure when one or more wheels start spinning too quickly.
- Lane Departure—Some newer vehicles come equipped with lane departure warning systems that provide warnings when a driver is drifting out of the lane. Lane-keeping systems provide automatic steering and braking to keep a vehicle within its travel lane.
Contact the Tadchiev Law Firm if You’ve Been Hurt in a Car Accident in Queens
Of course, accidents still happen even with the many safety innovations. If you’ve been seriously injured in a car crash caused by another driver in Queens, the car accident attorneys at the Tadchiev Law Firm can help you seek compensation for your injuries.
To learn more about how we can help, contact our office and get your free initial consultation today.
About the Author
Simon Landsberg
Simon B. Landsberg is an associate attorney at The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. He focuses his practice exclusively on representing individuals and families who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents and due to other forms of negligence.