Vehicle safety features have been around since the 1940s when the Tucker Sedan was fitted with a padded dashboard to reduce injuries in the event of a crash. Since then, there have been leaps and bounds from the basic car safety features of yesteryear to the safety features in cars that we see today. But are these newer safety features actually reducing accidents or at least dampening their outcomes?
We’ve investigated and put together this article to explain whether advanced safety features in automobiles make a difference on the road.
Check out our other thought-provoking articles on safety here.
In this article:
1. What Vehicle Safety Features Are Required by Law?
2. Newer Vehicle Safety Features
3. How Effective Are Advanced Vehicle Safety Features?
4. Do Safety Features Lower Car Insurance?
5. Final Thoughts on Vehicle Safety Features
1 What Vehicle Safety Features Are Required by Law?
Before we delve deeper into the world of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), let’s take a look at the vehicle safety features that are actually a legal requirement in Canada and the US.
- Seatbelts: Three-point seatbelts are a requirement by law.
- Airbags: Airbags are a legal requirement in all new cars in the US. In Canada, the law is less set in stone, but the actual rule means every car does feature them.
- Brakes: Every car must have in-built brakes.
- Rear-View Mirrors: Every car, unless specifically being used for off-roading, must feature rear-view mirrors.
- Advanced Braking Systems: ABS pumps the brakes rapidly to prevent locking and jamming in high-pressure situations and is now required by law.
- Electronic Stability Control: This system has been a legal requirement since 2012 and is used to prevent skids and sliding.
- Traction Control: Partnered with electronic stability control, traction control applies brakes on slippery wheels for wet driving and is required in all new cars by law.
- Rear-View Cameras: Since 2018, the rearview cameras that help cars reverse and park have been legally required in all new cars.
- Child Seat Anchors: A steady anchor for child booster seats is needed in all new cars.
Front and Rear Daytime Running Lights: While front daytime running lights that come on automatically when a car starts have been a legal requirement for some time, it was mandated in 2021 that all new cars must also feature the same system in the rear.
2 Newer Vehicle Safety Features
In recent years, there have been more advanced safety features installed into newer cars, which, although not required by law, have been picking up traction in popularity and are becoming the standard for a lot of new cars and brands. While many of the longer-standing safety features in cars seem more focused on how to make your car safer in a crash, the newer ones are angled at reducing and eliminating crashes altogether.
Cars with blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alerts, lane departure warnings, forward collision warnings, and automatic braking in both the front and rear are all much more commonly seen on the roads these days. However, the inclusion of these ADAS features does bump up the price of cars by a pretty penny, which calls into question just how effective they are.
Tip: Get your vehicle serviced regularly and make sure to replace parts that require immediate attention. .
3 How Effective Are Advanced Vehicle Safety Features?
One way that we can try to deduce the effectiveness of these new ADAS features is by looking at collision trends as a whole. In Canada, injuries from car accidents dropped by around 40,000 between 2019 and 2020, which could mean that the presence of these new safety systems in cars has had an impact on the number of crashes.
However, while Canada’s injury and fatality rates have decreased over the last decade, the United States is experiencing an all-time high in road deaths, implying that far more variables are at play than the presence of ADAS features in new cars.
On the other hand, there is more concrete evidence that supports the use of advanced safety features in cars, which can be seen in a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Their December 2020 study put forward statistics such as:
- 50% fewer front-to-rear crashes and 56% fewer injuries occur in cars with forward collision warning and auto-brake systems
. This technology also reduced claim rates for injuries to people in other cars.
- 78% fewer rear-end crashes occur with rearview cameras, parking sensors, and rear automatic braking.
- 14% fewer lane-change crashes and 23% fewer injuries on cars with blind spot detection systems.
- 22% fewer backing crashes occur in cars with rear cross-traffic alert systems built into their ADAS.
And the list goes on, which serves to prove that cars with these new safety features are indeed having an impact on the roads.
4 Do Safety Features Lower Car Insurance?
While browsing for your next set of wheels, you might consider that with an ADAS system, your car will be intrinsically safer, meaning that you could potentially save money on your insurance. Sadly, things aren’t quite so simple.
Because ADAS features are still fairly new and not quite the norm for cars, insurance companies can make the case that their efficacy isn’t yet proven, meaning they don’t qualify your car for a discount. On the contrary, these systems can massively complicate repairs and make them a lot more expensive, meaning they could in fact increase the cost of your policy.
5 Final Thoughts on Vehicle Safety Features
Before purchasing a car with cutting-edge technology and features, you should consider your budget, insurance policy, and, of course, your own driving habits. However, if you want our recommendation, numbers don’t lie and safer roads are better for everyone, so if you feel like they would benefit you and fall within your budget, then there’s no reason to avoid them. To get top-quality safety features, visit PartsAvatar.ca today.
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