The growing trend in car safety is one of the biggest segments in the auto industry today. While vehicle safety has made amazing strides within the last few years, there is a constant push for better technology and safer cars overall.  Technologies such as airbags , anti-lock brakes, and stability management systems, have become more and more common and are now standard or available on almost every car sold in North America. As with most other technologies, these safety systems were first introduced in higher end models, eventually tricking down to more mainstream automobiles. So while the higher end models now have even more advanced safety, these are likely to become mainstream too.

There are two types of safety systems in every car. First are the active safety systems. These devices are designed to get us out of trouble and avoid an accident in the first place. Anti-lock brakes, traction control, and stability systems, are active safety systems as they can help us before an accident even occurs. The second type is known as passive safety systems. A passive safety system protects us once a vehicle has been engaged in an accident. These include airbags, seatbelts, and crumple zones. Airbags, seatbelts and other passive safety systems must work together. Airbags for example, do little to help you unless you’re wearing a seatbelt. Seatbelts are considered the foundation of passive safety.

Another part of car safety that has come far is the structure and design. This is the true root of a safe car. High-strength steel can reduce the chance of an impact intruding on the passenger compartment, reducing the chances of serious injury. A smart design will distribute the energy from an impact around the passenger cell, rather than directly into it. The goal is to reduce the deformation of the passenger compartment. High strength steel is very effective at keeping the passenger compartment of an SUV intact during a rollover.

The bottom line with vehicle safety is to remember that, while vehicles themselves have many more tools to keep the driver safe, no system, no matter how advanced, can compensate for an alert driver behind the wheel.