It was not long ago when a new car would be checked only for a couple of airbags, anti-lock brakes, and traction control, and you would be good to go. But things have changed now. Buyers today are not going to be satisfied with only the basic safety features in cars; they want more in exchange for their steep investments. Surveys conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggest that modern safety features have actually brought down numbers of fatalities in road accidents.

So before buying a car, you can look for these safety features :

• Seat belt: When it comes to safety features in cars, the seat belts provided by the manufacturer are a top consideration. These ensure you are safe inside the vehicle when there is a collision. You are less likely to suffer head and body injuries because of collision with the dashboard, windshield, or steering wheel. Pretensioners are also useful as they will retract the belts when needed to remove excess slack. Some carmakers even have a rear shoulder or center lap belt particularly for the safety of children seated in booster seats and older kids.
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is provided in most modern cars and it uses radars and sensors for locking onto the car just in front so that you can keep a safe distance from it; you can speed up when you wish to and brake when the traffic is slowing down. This safety feature is beneficial for those driving on highways for long hours or when they are stuck in a lot of traffic.
• Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB): This feature can be a savior when the driver fails to react promptly in the event of a possible accident. The car starts to brake on its own when there is an emergency.
• Lane Departure Warning will buzz the seats or steering to alert you that you have crossed white lines. Lane Keep feature ensures that your car is steered back gently into the original lane in case you had moved out of it unknowingly.
• Blind Spot Detection: When you look for safety features in cars, this feature is an obvious consideration because it prevents you from looking over the shoulder or keep glancing at all the mirrors to keep an eye on what is in your blind spot. The system can easily spot what may have missed your attention, and even warns you when there are cars coming at great speed from behind you.
• Rear-view cameras help you see what is right behind you when you are backing up your car and also to protect pets and kids from being run over accidentally.
• Safety Exit Assist feature will stop children from opening the rear doors if there are cars coming from the back.
• Airbags inflate to stop the passengers and driver from getting hit against the windshield or dashboard on impact, or even hitting other objects that can come crashing through the car.
• Head injury protection has energy-absorbing material or foam that can protect you from a head injury. Head restraints are car seat extensions that will prevent head movements when there is a rear-impact so that your neck is not injured.
• Antilock Brake System (ABS) stops the car wheels from getting locked when the driver panics and brakes, giving him better-steering control so that an accident can be averted.