The mantra that ‘bigger is better’ is certainly leaving our vocabulary when it comes to cars. No longer is oversized, gas guzzling SUVs in vogue. Instead, smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles are all the rage. However, these fuel efficient, easy-to-maneuver offerings aren’t necessarily the safest on the road.
Whether you’re buying a truck, an SUV, or a subcompact, all cars must adhere to strict safety regulations. While this helps provide drivers with a certain level of safety and peace of mind regardless of what vehicle one may purchase, a Honda dealer Los Angeles say it doesn’t necessarily guarantee the level of safety you’ll receive in real world driving. This is why it’s important to do your research before heading to the dealership to truly gauge how safe a car may be. Luckily, there are plenty of resources to do exactly that.
Perhaps the best resource for safety information is the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). This nonprofit is supported by the insurance industry, and does extensive safety testing on just about every vehicle on the road. In addition to gauging the safety of a car’s design and how well its safety features work, one Westminster Toyota dealer says the IIHS also does a number of studies to find trends when it comes to vehicle safety. For example, the data below indicates Highest Rates of Driver Death rates between the years of 2001 and 2004.
One factor that this study found is that size and weight plays a large role when it comes to safety. Although today’s advanced safety features help minimize fatality rates in any size vehicle, real world driving has plenty to do with plain physics, which Auto Body Pittsburgh can certainly agree with. This is why many of the vehicles with the highest fatality rates were small cars, while the vehicles with the lowest fatality rates were larger cars.
Recent years has seen auto safety change dramatically. In fact, Kia dealers Denver have seen dramatic changes in Kia vehicles alone. First the advanced safety features are very much mainstream. Even seat belts are used more than just a decade ago. But speeds have also increased over the years, as the national speed limit used to be only 55 mpg. With greater speeds, but safer cars, physics is playing a larger role in car accidents and in fatalities.
Even more recent research conducted by the IIHS shows that the highest personal injuries occurred among smaller 2005 to 2007 model year vehicles. While the data is a bit daunting, and is often a concern among Toyota dealers Anaheim, the question then becomes, should you buy a larger car to protect your safety?
Overall, the rate of fatalities has not gone up as more consumers have abandoned larger vehicles in favor of smaller cars. This is an important consideration according to Hyundai Albany when wondering whether a larger car will guarantee your safety. All indicators show that smaller cars are getting safer, despite the higher rates of fatalities.
Regardless, when considering a new vehicle, one Pittsburgh Kia dealer always reminds customers that it’s important to consult the IIHS or NHTSA websites in order to find how the vehicles held up in crash test reports. The most popular vehicles will certainly have crash information, while low volume vehicles will not have any data if there is low sales volume. However, most of the new models rank well, and usually receive four or five star ratings.
Ultimately, in the coming years, Saturn Denver believes that technology will play an increasingly larger role in new vehicle safety. It’s new technology that allows new subcompacts such as the Honda Fit to have a top crash test rating. Electronic stability control, front and side airbags, and a slew of other now common safety features are relatively new, and were not even available on the Chevrolet Blazer in the study referenced above.
As more technology becomes infused into the vehicles we drive, regardless of size, it’s likely that we’ll be able to minimize or reduce the severity of crashes. However, that being said, good driver behavior will never be substituted by the most advanced safety features.
Volvo Dives into Plug-in Hybrid Technology
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Lexus ES Still Critical to Luxury Brand Lineup
As one Lexus’ most popular models, there will be plenty of drivers that will be happy to see a revamped Lexus ES 350 coming to showrooms later this month. While it may not be a full redesign, the updating certainly brings needed enhancements.
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