by Calvin Cooper

Created on: November 07, 2008   Last Updated: November 23, 2010

So, you're in the market for a new car, and this time around, you've decided safety features are a main criterion for you.

Alas, you're not too savvy about the safety features available in the myriad of auto makes and models in today's market. Don't fret by the time you're done reading this, you'll have a basic overview of essential safety features and options about which to inquire.

Although this is by no means a complete list of safety features available on the market, hopefully you'll find it a useful resource as you move forward with your research.

Seat Belts

The seatbelt is the most essential of all vehicle occupant safety features. Advances in seatbelt technology have resulted in "smart" seat belts. Seat belts equipped with sensor technology calculate the forces of a collision and self-adjust to provide the optimum amount of safety restraint.

Focus your attention on vehicles that have 3-point lap and shoulder belts for each of the vehicle's sitting positions this includes the rear middle seat. The ineffectiveness of lap-only seat belts eliminates them for consideration as an acceptable safety feature.

A vehicle's seat belts should allow for height adjustment in order to accommodate child seats or booster seats.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org), the minimum height for proper operation of adult seat belts is 4'9". Children don't reach that height until they are between the ages of 8-12. Until then, seat belts must be height adjustable to keep them safe in their car seat or booster seat.

Airbags

Driver and front-seat passenger airbags are virtually standard equipment in most new car models. Are they effective? Well, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, airbags reduce driver deaths by 14 percent and passenger deaths by 11 percent. The verdict, therefore, is in they are, indeed, highly effective.

But, in order for airbags to be fully effective, they must be used in conjunction with lap and shoulder seat belts. Working as a system, airbags and seat belts dissipate the forces of a collision on a vehicle's occupants, thereby reducing instances of injury or death.

It must be noted, when airbags deploy during a collision, the force with which they inflate can itself injure, or in rare occasions, kill a vehicle's occupant.

A driver sitting too close to the steering wheel, for example, or a passenger sitting too close to the dashboard are both at risk of injury during airbag deployment.

The possibility of airbag

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