Auto experts recommend two key safety features on vehicles

December 26, 2004

According to top auto experts, if looking for a new vehicle it should come equipped with two must have safety features: side air bags and electronic stability control.

The senior vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Susan Ferguson, said, "I wouldn't buy a car without either of them." The side air bags are specifically designed to protect a person's head, and electronic stability control helps drivers regain control of a swerving vehicle by automatically applying brake pressure.

In May 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed stricter side impact crash tests that would force automakers to equip almost all new vehicles with side air bags in order to protect occupant's heads from brain injury. According to the agency, the implementation of this change would save 700 to 1,000 lives annually.

Recent studies by both the traffic safety administration and the insurance institute have also suggested stability control systems could save thousands of lives annually. A study released in November 2004 by the institute found a car equipped with the safety technology was 34 percent less likely to be involved in a fatal crash, but the safety measure has been seen as particularly useful for SUVs, which have a greater propensity to rollover than passenger cars. Every year, SUV rollovers result in more than 10,000 deaths.

Unfortunately, the side air bags with head protection were standard features on just 28.4 percent of 2004 models and were offered as options on another 21.5 percent. The NHTSA's proposed side air bags change will not take effect until the end of the decade, though Jeffrey Runge, the head of the agency, believes, "of all of the vehicle regulations that have been generated under this administration, that is the one that is the most important," adding "just look at the fact that over half of side impact deaths involve brain injury."

Stability control was standard on just 21.6 percent of 2005 models and optional on 19.3 percent. The safety technology is aimed at preventing crashes, instead of responding after a crash has already occurred. Vehicles equipped with stability control systems have a computer that collects data from sensors monitoring various movements and compares where the car is going with where the driver is trying to go. Should the computer determine the driver is losing control, it applies brake pressure to individual tires to restore order.

The two safety features "shouldn't be options," according to David Pittle, the senior vice president for technical policy at Consumers Union. Of the wide range of new safety technologies now available on vehicles, recent studies have suggested the side air bags and electronic stability control are the most effective. As options, each safety measure costs several hundred to several thousand dollars, despite their ability to potentially save thousands of lives if more widely installed.

For more information on crashworthiness and auto safety, contact us to confer with an attorney.

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