Is Your Car Safe?
Nobody wants to be in a car crash, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t think about car safety. Driving a car that is well-made and has lots of safety features will ensure that, should the worst happen, you have a chance of getting out of a bad situation relatively unscathed. Think of it as an insurance policy.
The safety organisation Euro NCAP tested 29 of the most popular cars, and released the results earlier this year. The crash tests performed by Euro NCAP produced some interesting, but comforting, results. Of the 29 cars that they tested, more than half qualified for the organisations five star safety rating. In 2009, almost all of the cars that Euro NCAP tested managed to qualify for the five star rating, but the reduction in qualifiers is not down to cars being more poorly made. The NCAP have increased the standard required for a five star rating, so the top cars are incredibly well designed.
The safest cars, according to the crash tests, were:
- BMW 5 Series
- Alfa Romeo Giulietta
- Honda CR-Z
- Kia Sportage
- Toyota Verso
Even the cars that came in lower in the rankings, such as the Citroen Nemo, far exceeded the EEC crash standards.
Keeping Your Car Safe
The one thing that you can take away from the NCAP results is that, off the lot, most cars are pretty safe. However, once they’ve been in the hands of their owners for a while that can change. You need to take care of your car to keep it safe. So, don’t doge that Land Rover service.
Yes, you’ve probably heard your friends complain about how much a Volvo service costs, or give horror stories about how their Land Rover service fee was massive, but it looked like the mechanic barely did anything. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that a service is just a quick nose around the car. How would you feel if someone said that your job was nothing? The mechanics that service cars know what they’re looking for, and they do a lot more than just put a stamp and a signature in a book for you.
On a day-to-day basis, you should make sure that your tyres are in good condition, your fuel tank is topped up, your fluid levels are sufficient, all of the lights are working, and your brakes are OK. Try to get into the habit of walking around your car checking out all of the important bits at least once every few days. If you spot a problem, fix it immediately.
If you live in an area where winters are snowy or icy, invest in a set of winter tyres, and change over to them as soon as the weather starts to turn bad. The initial outlay for the tyres might be expensive, but you should be able to get a couple of years use out of them, if you have space to store them in your garage. From an accident prevention perspective, they’re well worth the investment.
This article was written by Crispin Jones on behalf of Main Dealer Discount, who can provide drivers with information on Volvo service costs and access to a discounted Land Rover service.
As Crispin has just had his first child, he is very concerned with car safety.
