If you’re buying a new car, there’s a lot you should consider, but probably none as important as safety. Even if you need to pay a higher price, that’s still so much better than getting injured and having to find a car accident lawyer.
Before you make that vehicle purchase, here are the four key points to review while ensuring your safety:
Crash Test Scores
If a vehicle has a good crash test score, that means it can protect its occupants during an accident far better than any car that scores poorly. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is the government body that assigns scores. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also does these tests, but IIHS tests are stricter. Just by buying a car with a good crash test score, you can avoid injuries having to find a car accident lawyer later on.
Side Airbags
Frontal crashes are the most common, followed by side impacts, but rear, side and front crashes are often the least tragic. Make sure the vehicle you buy has side head airbags beside each seat and at least torso airbags on the sides of the front occupants. Protecting the head and torso, side bags can considerably minimize the risk of fatalities as a result of a side impact collision. Indeed, airbags can save your life, and while it’s not that hard to find a car accident lawyer, you’ll sure want to stay away from injuries as much as possible.
Electronic Stability Control
Electronic Stability Control is another must-have safety feature that the vehicle you choose should have. In simple terms, it is the multi-directional equivalent of the anti-lock braking system (ABS), which prevents skidding and losing control when you make sharp turns. Brakes are applied on each tire, thereby helping the vehicle in the direction of the steering wheel. It is estimated that with this feature, the risk of a fatal single-vehicle crash will be cut into half. And in view of the fact that about 50% of the car fatalities in the U.S. each year are single-vehicle crashes, that makes a tremendous difference. Buying a car with an ESC may cost you a little more, but again, it will help you stay safe and avoid having to find a car accident lawyer.
Ride Height
This one is simple: if your head is higher than the front end of the car that rams into you, you’re considerably more likely to make it without serious brain damage.
At the end of the day, you can live with a car that has no power windows, no DVD player, and the like. But a vehicle that does a poor job at providing crash protection is not even worth a look. If you do encounter an accident, it shouldn’t be so hard to find a car accident lawyer, but first, be sure to make it.