A car’s safety is assessed based on the level of safety for adults and children in the car, pedestrian and safety-enhancing systems. The overall rating for a car’s safety is assessed on all these aspects, while the car is not under perform in any of these areas. The assessment presented in general with a certain number of stars, with five being the highest.

Some test shows the aggregated results from frontal crash tests, tests for side impact protection, pedestrian protection and child safety. In addition, evaluation of car safety-systems, ESC systems (electronic stability control), the SBR system (seat belt reminder), whiplash protection, and speed control system.

Comparisons between cars can be performed only within the same weight class as the collision outcome is also affected by weight.

Seat belts, head restraints and airbags

The seat belt can be a simple life. Head restraints and air bags also protects you in a crash.

Seatbelt
For many years the law say that everyone should have on seat belts in the car. According to the Transport Authority has 40 percent of those who are killed each year in traffic did not use a belt. The numbers of single-vehicle accidents is even higher: two out of three motorists who died in such accidents had not used the seat belt.

The majority of today’s cars are equipped with systems that automatically tighten the belt during a collision to reduce the body’s movement. They do not make it harder to open the buckle after the crash.

Head restraints and airbags
Stiffer seats and structures have made new cars safer, but also increases the risk of so-called whiplash or whiplash injuries in rear impacts. More than 3500 injured persons with disability of ten percent caused in car crashes reported each year. More than half consists of whiplash injuries. Most will be fine within a week, while between five and ten percent have more prolonged symptoms.

Special headrests (whiplash protection) can reduce the risk of injury by 40 percent. Confuse them with traditional headrest that has only marginal effect on whiplash accidents.

While air bags can reduce the risk of whiplash injuries.

Children in car
Every year children are killed and injured because they do not sit properly restrained in the car. In order for children to sit safely in your car you have to choose the right car seat. The chair must also be installed and used correctly.

Under the scheme began in 1 January 2007, all children who are shorter than 135 centimeters using special safety equipment in the car – baby car seat, car seat, booster seat or booster seat. To improve safety generally recommended that the protection / child seat is rear facing until the child is 4 years old. It is also important that the booster seat or booster seat use until 10-12 years of age. Read the rest of this entry »