As I drove to work on this cold, wet day, I was reminded how important safety is when we choose a vehicle for ourselves, our loved ones, and especially our newly-licensed teenagers. Heated seats, touch screens, horsepower, and looks matter little when another driver fails to stop at a redlight and T-bones you. We want vehicles that will protect us and our families when, not if, an accident happens.
So, what vehicle should you buy to provide the greatest safety for those you love?
Let’s start with three guiding principles.
Principle 1: No vehicle safety feature will ever be as important as a fully engaged driver. I want to spell that out on the side of Kyle Field in 40-foot-tall letters. A driver who is paying complete attention to the task of driving will be more likely to get home safely than one who is not, even if the former is driving a 1970’s Ford Pinto and the latter a state-of-the-art Tesla. There is no technology yet that can fully replace the human driver. And this is where all of those wonderfully advanced safety features actually have a NEGATIVE consequence: they can deceive us into believing our attention is no longer required. That’s a recipe for tragedy. New technologies like automated braking and lane departure warnings are wonderful… so long as we do not use these features to excuse distracted driving. So here’s a simple rule of thumb. No matter what vehicle you buy, the safety of you and your passengers will be primarily determined by your full engagement in the task of driving. Put the cell phone away. No texting while driving. Ever. And be very careful even talking on a phone while driving as it can be just as distracting.
Very effective rear crumple zone on this Volvo S90. Note how the trunk absorbed almost all of the impact, leaving the passenger compartment fully intact. Longer vehicles usually provide you larger crumple zones.
Principle 2: mass usually wins in a collision. You could have the safest 2-door hatchback ever made, but in a collision with a Suburban, you will almost certainly lose. It’s a simple matter of physics. Imagine crashing a ping-pong ball into a golf ball. The former will experience a massive change in velocity; the latter barely any. It’s that massive change in velocity that kills you (imagine your brain inside that ping-pong ball!). Now that does not mean we should all drive tanks. Big, heavy SUV’s and trucks carry their own safety risks, most notably increased propensity to roll over. Therefore, I advise a middle-ground. The safest vehicles tend to be mid-size or full-size sedans and SUV’s. They have sufficient mass and also offer larger crumple zones than their smaller siblings. Crumple zones are portions of the vehicle designed to “crunch” under impact so that energy can be absorbed before it makes it into the cabin. Longer hoods and trunks, larger doors, and greater space between doors and occupants means there is more room for energy absorption to occur before you get smacked. So, leave the little sports cars for more experienced drivers (me, please!), and get something larger if you’re a new driver or have little kids with you.
Principle 3: newer is better. Safety features follow a progression. First, luxury brands pioneer a new technology like airbags, antilock brakes, or blind spot monitors. But with time, costs decrease and eventually those same features are found in every car from a Ferrari to a Ford. Therefore, the newer the car, the more safety features it is likely to possess. If you have a choice between a low-mileage ten-year-old vehicle or a high-mileage four-year-old vehicle, the safer bet will probably be the newer vehicle, all other things being equal. For convincing proof, watch this video of a 1959 Chevy Bel Air (a massively heavy bruiser) disintegrating when hit by a 2009 Chevy Malibu. Newer is definitely safer if it’s more than ten years difference.
With these principles in mind, how do you select the safest vehicle? RESEARCH! Look up IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) ratings on all the vehicles you are considering. These industry-wide ratings are based on extensive crash-test data, and can be found at www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings. Second, read reviews of each vehicle at Consumer Reports, Edmunds.com, and any other reputable source you can find. If you’ll be buying a used car, look for reviews about used versions of the cars you’re looking for. Finally, talk to that car guy or gal you know, the one who’s always driving something interesting and impractical. Chances are good that he or she will have useful suggestions for you. And if you don’t know anyone who fits that description, OnRamp is happy to help. Just ask.
My first set of wheels looked like this, but in a more boring grey. It was basically a road-going couch with vinyl seats that stuck to your skin on hot days. I never street-raced because I already knew I’d never win.
For parents of new drivers, all the above principles apply, but let me add one more. Please do not buy your new driver more car than they can handle! Fast cars are a privilege to earn, not a rite-of-passage for testosterone-filled teens. On behalf of all innocent bystanders, please do not give a new driver a Corvette. Give him or her something slow and docile. My first car was an early 80’s two-wheel-drive Chevy Blazer. 0-60 took over ten seconds. You had to work to exceed the speed limit… which made it perfect for a new driver. You wouldn’t throw a toddler in the deep end to learn how to swim. So don’t throw your sixteen-year-old the keys to a sports car. So for all of our sakes, help your kid learn the skill of safe driving in something slow and boring.
Last question: What safety options do you really need? Is lane departure or auto-braking actually worth the thousands of dollars some manufacturers charge for these options? That depends on your budget. They are nice features, but they are not nearly as important as the safety features that are required by law on all new vehicles such as seatbelts, airbags, anti-lock brakes, crunch zones and backup cameras. If you have the money for these advanced features, spend it. If not, don’t worry. What matters far more is that no matter what vehicle you buy, you are always a fully engaged driver. Always.
Since this is an article on safety, I better cover my own butt. I am not a lawyer. I am not (currently) an engineer. My opinions are my own and I make no guarantees, expressed or implied, that my advice is true, competent, complete, or will save you from bodily harm or death. I’m just a guy who likes cars. That is all.