Tips and Tricks to Make the Best Pick
It's always an exciting experience shopping for a new or used vehicle, but before you go out and make a quick decision, it would be wise to do your research on important safety features. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regularly conduct crash tests on vehicles and supply the public with their safety ratings.
When considering what type of vehicle you would like to purchase, look for the following things:
- A strong crashworthy design reduces serious injury risk and deaths. Look for vehicles with a strong occupant compartment, crumple zones to absorb force in a severe crash, side structures to protect if struck by another vehicle, and a strong roof that won’t collapse in the event of the vehicle rolling over.
- Good seatbelts to help hold passengers in their seats and spread the crash impact across the upper body’s stronger bony parts.
- Airbag structures within the vehicle to help protect from both front and side impacts.
- Vehicle size and weight- the larger and heavier vehicles offer much more protection than smaller, lighter vehicles in the event of an accident.
- Crash avoidance systems- such as forward collision avoidance alerts, which warn you when you get too close to the car in front of you. Adaptive headlights are also a great feature that shift direction as you steer around curves, providing better vision.
You can research how safe a vehicle you are interested in rates by checking out www.ihhs.org/ratings. The safest vehicles will receive the IIHS Top Safety Pick, meaning they protect people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes. You can also check out www.safecar.gov to see if the vehicle has received at least 4 out of 5 stars from the NHTSA.
As always, please feel free to call us for more input on your car buying decisions!
www.RARisk.com
800-564-0169