Many vehicles created in the last decade are packed with helpful features that may reduce the chances of a car accident. For example, your car may have parking assistance or lane departure warning systems. Like all tools, vehicle safety features are only useful if you know how they work. That is why it is important for car owners to know how to use these features.
You have several options to learn about the safety features in your vehicle. Before any options mentioned in this article, you should grab a copy of your vehicle owner’s manual. The owner’s manual should have a listing of your vehicle’s safety features. You may also find this information by contacting the dealership that sold you the vehicle. Write down a list of these safety features. It will make it easier to use the following websites.
OPTION 1: USE NHTSA.GOV
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is the federal agency responsible for automotive safety. You can pull vehicle safety feature information from NHTSA’s website. Click or tap the “equipment” tab from the dropdown menu then select “safety technologies”.
NHTSA’s website covers information on five common safety features, such as forward collision warning and lane departure systems. It also covers automatic braking, blind spot detection and backup cameras. You can scroll down the website to find helpful videos that explain how these features work. NHTSA’s website will tell you different names for these features and the types of accidents they prevent. It will also explain different categories of features, such as the different types of emergency braking.
When it comes to researching information that can improve your safety, government resources are the gold standard. NHTSA’s website should be used first before using any other tool or resource.
OPTION 2: USE MYCARDOESWHAT.ORG
MyCarDoesWhat.org is a joint-collaboration between the University of Iowa and the National Safety Council. The website includes helpful infographics, tutorials and other information on the various safety features found in modern vehicles.
MyCarDoesWhat.org also has a dropdown menu with multiple tabs. The first tab on the left-hand corner covers safety features that include forward collision prevention, anti-rollover, parking assistance, driver communication and lane departure systems. Take the safety features mentioned in your owner’s manual and select them from the website’s dropdown menu. If you want to learn more about forward collision prevention, then select the tab on that feature.
There are several different types of collision prevention features, so you will need to select the one mentioned in your owner’s manual. Let’s say for instance that your vehicle has automatic emergency braking. For this feature, the website includes a video that explains how it works and many other helpful sections. You can access common questions people have about this feature. In addition, you could also find tips for using the feature, infographics and other information on how it works.
This website also has a section where you can play games to learn information about your safety features. However, you need a phone that uses Android or iOS software to play these games.
DO SAFETY FEATURES WORK?
Are safety features worth the cost? New research suggests that safety features in modern vehicles are saving thousands of lives annually.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), blind spot detection and lane departure warning systems prevent thousands of deaths per year. The IIHS estimates that if all passenger vehicles were equipped with lane departure systems, 85,000 crashes and 55,000 injuries would have been prevented during 2015.
However, it is important to emphasize that safety features cannot always save your life. As a personal injury attorney, Stanley A. Davis has seen multitudes of ways that car accidents are caused by negligent or reckless behavior. For example, you could be hit by a drunk driver or someone who is texting behind the wheel. In other cases, someone who is going faster than the posted speed limit may collide with your vehicle. Your car could contain a defect that causes the engine to stall without warning. These are just a few examples of scenarios where safety features would probably not prevent an accident. You should still call an attorney if you have reason to believe another party is responsible for causing your car crash.
Nashville personal injury lawyer Stanley A. Davis has helped car accident victims and their families seek justice since 1997. Stan was recently interviewed by Fox 17 News Nashville to discuss the problem of debris on the roads causing car accidents.