If you have a car, chances are that you spend a lot of your life in it. In fact, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that the average American spends about 293 hours driving each year. Because of this, drivers should make sure that their vehicles are as safe as possible. Experts recommend that you perform a general check of all your vehicle’s safety features every year. Here are a few to pay special attention to.
Anti-Lock Brake System
Anti-lock brake systems have been a standard feature on vehicles for the last few years. This system helps drivers stop their vehicle in a stable way during a panicked stop. Some vehicles display a message when the system needs to be serviced, but by that time it is probably too late. Bring your car to your trusted auto mechanic annually to get this function checked, preferably in the fall before you have to worry about snow and ice.
Electronic Stability Control
This feature is usually only installed in SUVs and similar larger vehicles. Electronic stability control allows drivers to go around corners with a reduced chance for rollovers, skids, and slides. Essentially, the system reduces the engine power during these types of turns in order to reduce the chances accidents like these from occurring. Like the anti-lock brake system, you want to have your electronic stability control system checked every year, whether your vehicle displays a maintenance message or not.
Seatbelts
Seatbelts are one of the safety features that most effectively prevents serious injuries and death, but few drivers think to check them. You should make sure that all of your vehicle’s seatbelts are properly secured to the vehicle and snugly fit into their respective buckle. Also, be sure that no seatbelt warnings appear when your seatbelts are actually in-use. This is because, in some cars, if the vehicle detects that a seatbelt is not in use, air-bags may not deploy in that section of the car.
Airbags
Airbags are essentially the most important safety feature on your car. They can save you from traumatic injury during a collision and possibly save your life. You must be sure that all of your vehicle’s airbags are working properly. If a message appears stating that there is an issue with one of the vehicle’s airbags, bring it to a licensed mechanic as soon as possible. Also, be sure to check if the passenger airbag system is on when an adult is seated in the passenger seat (if your car has this feature), as if it does not deploy when needed, passengers can suffer serious injuries ranging from incapacitation to death.
