Sixt wants all of our customers to travel safely whilst using our car rental service so we are giving you some car safety features to look out for. Most car manufacturers use lots of different car safety features and newer technologies are making these more useful and intelligent.
Seat Belts
One of the oldest and most important car safety features is the seat belt, which is designed to keep occupants inside the vehicle and prevents people from hitting the dashboard, steering wheel and the windscreen. Seat belts are adjustable to fit people of different sizes and are important to use in case of a crash, especially if the car you are travelling in rolls over.
Air Bags
Air bags are activated when a car is going at a certain speed due to the impact of another vehicle but they should not replace the use of seat belts. Air bags prevent occupants of a moving vehicle from hitting their head on the steering wheel, the windshield or the dashboard. Side airbags can prevent people from hitting the doors or objects that crash through it.
Head Injury Protection
Head injury protection is normally foam or another absorbing material which is placed under the interior of the vehicle. It is designed to deploy during side impacts and rollovers and protects occupants from hitting their head on the interior of the vehicle.
Head Restraints
Head restraints are extensions of a seat that are designed to minimise head movement during rear-impact crashes and also support the occupant’s neck, preventing injury. Head restraints are mandatory in front seats and normally adjusted manually although some change automatically when they react to the movement of a vehicle.
Antilock Brake System
An antilock brake system (ABS) prevents the wheels from locking when your use your car brakes suddenly and enables you to keep better control of the vehicle. This will not prevent a crash if you are travelling at excessive speeds and using severe steering movements. Some ABS’s also include brake assist which is a highly intelligent car safety feature to have. It can sense emergency braking by working out the speed and force that the driver has used to brake with and adds power to aid you.
Forward Collision Avoidance System
This is another useful car safety feature and is also known as a pre-crash warning system, and is used side by side with automatic braking. It can warn drivers, with visual or auditory clues, that they’re about to approach and potentially collide with an oncoming object.
Lane Departure Warning Systems
This piece of technology can help prevent head-on collisions and other potential hazards. Cameras and other sensors, such as radar or infrared, are placed around the vehicle to work out your position in a lane. If you leave a lane, a light flashes, and a high-pitched beep sounds. Some vehicles also have vibrating steering wheels to help warn you.
