Photo by Hyundai Motor Group on Unsplash

One hundred and fifty-seven years ago, Mary Ward became the first driving accident victim when she was thrown from the passenger seat and run over by her cousin’s experimental steam-powered car. It would take 100 years for seat belts to become available to the driving public – the exact type of equipment that could have saved her life that day. Even when they were first introduced to the mass market 67 years ago, many drivers did not believe in a seat belt’s ability to save their life. It would take years for seat belts to become the safety fixture they are today. Unfortunately, failing to wear one is still a major factor in many deaths on the road.

We’ve come a long way since Mary’s death. Seat belts were the first in a series of safety technologies that would revolutionize driving and make it a much safer practice. In Parts 1 and 2 of our Safety History series, we explored the evolution of safety innovation throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In the third part of our series, we’ll look at the essential vehicle tech of today that can help reduce your risk and even preempt a collision.

Recommended Crash Prevention Technology

Since the advent of seat belts, safety technology has advanced beyond just protecting us in a crash to actively preventing a crash from happening. This is partly the result of regulatory bodies that test and rate vehicles across safety categories that buyers care about.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began testing and rating vehicles for front impact protection in 1978, creating a rating system in the process to help consumers make informed decisions about safety when purchasing a vehicle. Since then, they have added many more criteria to their rating system, testing vehicles for all sorts of collision types and potential issues.

Drawing from their research, the NHTSA recommends consumers look for the following safety technologies when purchasing a new vehicle:

• Seat belts

• Air bags

• Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

  • Notifies the driver if their vehicle’s tire pressure is low

• Forward collision warning

  • Notifies the driver when they get too close to the vehicle in front of them

• Lane departure warning

  • Notifies the driver when they cross a lane marking without signaling

• Crash imminent braking

  • Automatically applies the brake to avoid forward collisions

• Dynamic brake support

  • Increases braking power when a driver has not braked hard enough to avoid a forward collision

Make sure that every time you intend to drive a new vehicle you take time to familiarize yourself with its safety features, learning how they work and how to operate them.

Highest Rated Passenger Vehicles

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests and rates vehicles on key safety features, awarding the safest cars with their Top Safety Pick+ designation.

“The standards for earning these awards become more stringent over time, and the auto industry has traditionally responded by making safety improvements that benefit consumers.”

Some of the highest rated passenger cars include:

• Kia K4

• Mazda 3 hatchback and sedan

• Nissan Sentra

• Toyota Prius

• Toyota Camry

• Hyundai Sonata

This is only a small part of the full list, which is continually updated throughout the year as IIHS tests more vehicles.

Drivers Improve Their Car’s Safety

One important consideration that many drivers overlook is that a vehicle’s height and weight contribute to its ability to protect occupants in a crash. Larger vehicles typically protect passengers better, but are much more deadly for those they hit, especially when in a collision with an unprotected, vulnerable road user like a pedestrian or cyclist.

It is vital to assess your needs and your driving habits when deciding on a vehicle. Making an appropriate choice for your specific use case helps improve your safety and the safety of those around you on the road.

Familiarizing yourself with your vehicle is also an important step towards maximizing your safety potential. Take time to understand the height, length, and width of your vehicle and what this means for your driving capabilities.

Well-trained drivers can make a vehicle even safer. Part of vehicle safety, and therefore part of each driver’s responsibility as a driver, is to ensure their vehicle is safe to drive before they begin their trip. This includes checks such as walking around the vehicle to ensure there is nothing obstructing their path, as well as properly securing any load they are transporting. Crash prevention also involves maintaining your vehicle in good working order to prevent malfunctions.

Safety begins with your vehicle, but it ends with you. Choosing a safe vehicle is not enough if you aren’t also choosing to drive safely. Safety has not always been a priority in car manufacturing. If it had been, countless lives could have been saved. We have the ability to prevent similar crashes today if we prioritize safety every time we get behind the wheel.

Sources:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/safest-new-cars-of-2026-iihs-top-safety-pick-a4816645459/

https://www.nhtsa.gov/ratings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TBVks-hu-w&t=15s