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Car Hire Safety Tips

By: Robert Thomson

The wall rushes towards you. It is an army of bricks, indifferent to bone and flesh. Your car, losing traction and gaining speed with every movement rushes forward to an inevitable collision. Your mind races with infinite possibilities in the space of a heartbeat. The decisions you make next will either save your life, or end it prematurely. Can you really rely on the protection your car provides you? When you collide with the wall, will the steel cage and crumple-zone protection spots wrap you in a secure cocoon? Or will your cars safety features fail you, causing your accident to develop into a catastrophe. What exactly does it take to make your car safe and secure?

Road traffic collisions contribute to over a million accidents every year. That is 25% of all related accidents. Advances in vehicle technology save lives every day but the carelessness of human nature is rife with alcohol, drug use and speeding, the main causes of vehicular fatalities. Since 1930 with the invention of the safety belt, we have strived to be safe in our motorcars. Padded dashboards were invented next, thanks to the geniuses at Volvo. Again, in 1958 Volvo developed the 3 Point seatbelt system which is still in use today (albeit heavily modified). This proved to be so well-liked that it became standard for all cars the following year. Sadly, the actual law requiring drivers to wear seatbelts was only set in stone in the 80’s and for this we can thank New York, for they had the foresight to institute such a requirement. Everyone from the manufactures to the car rental companies demanded these innovative new safety features

Bizarrely enough, vehicle colour plays a major role in the safety of your vehicle. Black coloured cars are responsible for 47% of all accidents which occur, with pink, red and silver being the safest colour at only 12%. When a crash occurs it is the passive safety features which score greatly in accordance to your own personal safety. Passive safety refers to the moment when the caris crashing or imminent to crash, allowing the safety features to automatically kick in. Firstly, the seatbelt tightens, creating a smaller target. Then the shoulder harnesses pin down the body and prevent neck dislocations, also protecting your head from impacting the windshield. If the windshield is breached, it will bend on impact and absorb the energy of your collision. Then the airbags kick in, providing extra cushioning - yet it should never be considered a replacement to a seatbelt. Finally, crumple zone technology absorbs the brunt of the impact, diverting it away from the driver and distributing it throughout the vehicle. Crumple Zone development is continually evolving and thousands of crash-test dummies are destroyed by eager scientists every day, all in the name driver safety (plus it looks amazingly cool in slow-motion).

Active safety is the more prominent safety feature, in terms of advances and being able to actually see how they keep you safe. Some of the newer active safety tools include Intelligent Speed Adaption, whereby the vehicle is limited by a speed limit determined by the GPS unit. Variable power steering, which the vehicle uses to control parking and give a greater turning speed under adverse driving conditions. ESP or Electronic Sensor Control which takes complete control of the vehicle under adverse conditions, preventing it from under-steering and reducing speed if necessary. Finally, ABS or anti-lock braking prevents your wheels from locking under stringent braking conditions. None of these can of course, compensate for sloppy driving. Remember, always add insurance to an airport car rental, as these cars are usually very worn down due to foreign drivers careening them around our roads. This tip is for your safety.

None of these safety techniques I mentioned here are a substitute for careful driving and respect for the road. I have seen far too many accidents in my lifetime. An overturned car which looks like a bug kicking the air for surface. Oil pooling around the wreck as a limp body is pulled out. The mournful look on the casual observers face. As clichéd as this sounds, don’t be a statistic. Heed the road; it is a fearsome beast which can only be tamed by safer driving.

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