The latest cars in the market nowadays are horsepower packing supercomputers. There are so many things going on in the background to make sure you avoid accidents and have smooth and safe driving experience. In spite of all the electronics, the most important safety mechanism of them all, during an accident, is your seat belt. So make sure you are strapped in because we are going on a ride to look at the various important safety features that make your car secure.

Airbags
Airbags have been around since the 1970s. Nowadays, they are equipped with crash sensors connected to an onboard computer. These can detect an accident and set off the bags which inflates in a few milliseconds and then deflates. While airbags are life savers, they may cause injury or even death to children or passengers without a seatbelt. Use of adaptive airbags, as well as side airbags, have made this car safety feature quite reliable.

Antilock brakes (ABS)
Before the advent of ABS technology, it was common for the wheels to get locked up during hard braking. Driving on slippery surfaces was very difficult because the wheels slid off when the brakes were applied. ABS prevents this from happening by using sensors at each wheel linked to a computer that increases braking action at each individual wheel preventing lock-up. Thus, the driver can retain control while steering.

Safety-belt features
The seat belt is the cornerstone of car safety. Although the main design has more or less been stable for some time now, various enhanced features help seatbelts do their job more effectively. Seatbelt pre-tensioners can retract the belts for taking up slack when there’s an impact from the front and helping position occupants properly while deploying an airbag. he belt force limiters help to lower the force of the seat belt by letting the belt playback out a little.

Traction control
Another electronically enabled system, the traction control reduces wheel spin during acceleration so that the wheels have the maximum traction. Useful in wet or icy conditions, some traction-control systems work only at low speeds, while others perform at all speeds.

Electronic stability control
Electronic stability control (ESC) is a system helps to keep the vehicle on its intended path when taking a turn, so to avoid sliding or skidding. Once again, it uses a computer and many sensors which are involved in detecting wheel speed, sideways motion, steering angle, and yaw. ESC comes into play in tall, top-heavy vehicles like pickups which can roll over quite easily in turns.

LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)
Now mandatory in all vehicles, the LATCH system was designed to make child-seat installation easier and more secure. The LATCH system encouraged the use of child restraints by easing installation and reducing challenges and incompatibilities during safety-belt installations.

Some of the newer safety features found in many modern cars are accident avoidance systems, brake assist, rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot warning (BSW), adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking (AEB), and forward collision warning (FCW). There are many more to be listed and plenty more that are being invented every day. Just remember not to compromise on the safety features, whenever you buy a car. Understand your driving abilities and make sure you are equipped with the car safety options that are right for you and your family.