Safest Vehicles on the Road Today
Accidents on the road happen frequently. Nearly 3.5 million people are affected by a car accident each year in the US alone, according to the Association for Safe International Road Travel. Do you know how safe your car is, since you spend so much time in it each day? Since 2006, safety studies have been done and recognition awarded to the safest cars each year. New technology plays a large part in making cars safe, so newer models have safety features that older models lack.
If you own or are shopping for a vehicle manufactured in the past 2 years, you’ll see the safest models listed further in this article. When car shopping, always remember to ask about safety features of the vehicle. Have them listed for you and shown to you, and ensure that all of them work properly.
Many cars and car companies have made strides to improve their vehicles, especially in the past five years, during which we’ve seen a very competitive automotive market. However, not all improvements have focused on safety. For example, your car may have a chair massager in every seat, but do you have assistive rear cameras or adaptive headlights?
Three safety features you should consider when purchasing a new car are adaptive cruise control, forward collision avoidance, and autonomous braking. These features could help you avoid an accident, possibly even saving your life. And if you are spending money on such a large new purchase, you want to be sure you are getting the most updated technology for the price.
Adaptive cruise control is a great feature, as it uses radar and cameras to monitor the vehicles in front of you. It will then adjust your speed automatically to maintain a safe distance, and then will accelerate again once it is safe to return to the preset cruise speed. Forward collision avoidance is a system that is very common today in the car brand, Mercedes. Not only will the system beep if someone is in your blind spot, it will also create various alerts if you are getting your car too close to an object in the front or back. And a truly beneficial safety feature is autonomous braking. This is a technology that will actually cause your car to break if warnings and alerts are ignored. The thought here is that braking will lessen the impact, or hopefully alert the driver enough to correct the driving situation.
Now that you know a little bit more about the technology and safety features have been added too late model vehicles to keep you safe, it is time to hear about those vehicles that rate high in safety! Below, find a listing of some of the safest models released for 2013, 2014, and 2015.
If you are looking for a smaller vehicle, three names you can depend on our Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, and Hyundai Elantra. They are economical, and while they all may not have the newest technology, their crash ratings are very good and they have top quality airbags. They all also have an overlapping body protection from side collisions.
Need something still fairly small, but higher end? Acura and Volvo are two names you should consider if safety is a priority. However, in particular, these models score high marks for safety: the Acura TL, and Volvo S60. Both have rear-assist cameras and plus ratings (which are the highest).
Shopping for a family vehicle? If you are looking to protect your kids in your vehicle, some names that have proven to be safer than their competitors would be the Honda Odyssey, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Mercedes M Class. They have varying price points but are all considered very safe as well as spacious. The crash and roll rating for SUV’s and minivans are very important, but all of these 3 vehicles have extra added reinforcement on their roofs.
Obviously, there are many more cars that did not make the “safest” list, but the best thing to do is research your desired vehicle before making a purchase! You can never be too careful with something that the average American spends two or more hours per day riding in.