by Jade Balle

Created on: November 05, 2008   Last Updated: November 16, 2008

For the fifth year in a row passenger car occupant fatalities has decreased, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 2007 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and People Injured. That's very good news that is largely due to new and improved safety features that have been installed on passenger vehicles.

Without a doubt, your family's safety is high on your totem pole of priorities - (right above DVRing Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy). So when it's time to shop for a new vehicle to accommodate the needs of your family, don't be afraid to grill your car salesman about safety features.

You definitely want anti-lock brakes, and to start out with high quality tires that really grip the road, but there are other features that you should also be looking into. Three major considerations should be your airbags-their location and whether your vehicle should be equipped with an air bag switch, your head injury protection and head restraints, and whether or not the vehicle is equipped with electronic stability control.

Location of Airbags and Cut Off Switches

Airbags are seen by many as a necessity in modern day vehicles because they reduce vehicle deaths by 30% (NHTSA). Many vehicles are now built with frontal impact airbags and side impact or "curtain" airbags that offer you a fuller field of protection. So if Grandma in the 80s Buick blows through the light and causes you to swerve into a telephone pole, these airbags will inflate rapidly, protecting your most vital organs. So you need to ask yourself, what type of airbags do I need to assure my safety and that of my family?

Well, if you do a lot of driving in the city where there are many busy intersections, you might decide on side impact airbags since the chances are higher of being hit from the side by a careless driver who runs a light or stop sign. If you spend a large percentage of your time on the highway, you might make the decision that frontal impact airbags alone will do. That's up to you.

You have to also keep in mind that airbags can be a dangerous feature for children and small adults. While they can save your life, airbags can also cause bodily injury or even death due to their extreme force when deployed. That is why in 1998 the NHTSA began allowing dealers to install airbag cut-off switches in special cases. These airbag switches allow the driver or passenger to turn the bag off. Of course, as an alternative to the airbag switch, the Insurance

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