What safety features does my car have?

Airbags. The obvious one, that every car has, but do you know where yours are?! Well, it differs from car to car, but generally there will be one in the front and passenger seat, as well as one in the steering wheel. The airbags are designed to reduce the impact if you are in a road traffic accident. If you’ve got an airbag warning light on, or you have been in a collision and your airbags have been activated, make sure you get the issue sorted. 

 

ABS, also known as the anti-lock braking system. This mechanism prevents the wheels from locking, which previously would cause the car to become difficult to control and could, potentially, prevent you from being able to steer. This was common on ice and slippery road surfaces, but, due to the invention of the ABS system, the car controls each wheel individually thus maximising their effectiveness and preventing the wheels from locking. 

 

Traction control. Another useful system, which you may never even knew you had. This helps keep the wheels gripped against the road and, again, is useful if your car hits ice, or is driving on a slippery surface. According to carkeys.co.uk traction control uses the same system as the ABS, and utilises the brakes to help reduce the amount of slip experienced when speeding up or going around corners. 

Safety-belts (or seat belts). Seat belts are usually installed with pretensioners, which automatically pull back in any slack on the belt, which helps keep a person in place during collision. According to consumerreports.org, some belts also have a counter technology, which slackens the belt after it has been pulled back in, which helps to reduce the force against the chest of the wearer. 

 

Now, they are the common safety features found in most new cars. However, there are some more safety features which are available in some makes and models, which you may want to consider when purchasing your new car. 

 

Forward-collision warning. It’s a bit fancy this one. Using cameras, sensors or lasers (or some useful combination of all three), the car scans ahead and alerts the driver if they are approaching a vehicle in too quickly, usually by making a sound or providing a visual alert. 

 

Adaptive Cruise Control. Similarly, to forward-collision warning, the car will use technology to keep a safe distance from the car in front, and some even go as far as slowing down and speeding up to maintain this safe distance. 

Lane-departure warning, or lane assist. This technology is designed to notify you if, without the correct signals (also known as indicators for those of you out there who have seemingly never heard of them!), your car deviates out of its lane. This uses a camera to monitor the lanes, and can be turned off in areas where these have low visibility or are non-existent. 

 

Parking assist. We’ve all been there. You’ve started to reverse and someone just walks about behind you with no warning. Well this is where the parking assist steps in. Usually in the form of a camera so you can see where you are reversing, or noises to notify you when you are close to someone or something. 

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list – there are plenty of cars with plenty of other safety features available – but a list of some of the most useful features that our team of personal injury solicitors in Preston have found. 

 

All of the above features are designed to either help you avoid a road traffic accident, or to avoid injury if you are unfortunate enough to be party to the same. If you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision and need assistance getting the compensation you deserve (and maybe a general chat about what car to get next with way more safety features!), contact our personal injury solicitors in Preston on 01772 783 314 or email enquiries@mglegal.co.uk.