The safety features on the following pages are considered some of the most important features a consumer should look for when considering the purchase of a new or used vehicle. It is recommended the consumers look at and choose vehicles offering both electronic stability control (ESC) and side air bag (SAB) head protection technology. NHTSA studies show that these two technologies offer tremendous life-saving ability.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

Electronic Stability Control (ESC), offered under various trade names, is designed to assist drivers in maintaining control of their vehicles during extreme steering maneuvers or on slippery roads. ESC senses when a vehicle is starting to lose control – known as either spinning out (over steering) or plowing out (under steering). When this occurs, ESC automatically applies the brake to one or more of the wheels to turn the vehicle to the appropriate direction. However, ESC cannot keep a vehicle on the road if the vehicle’s speed is simply too great for conditions.

Based on a study of U.S. crash data, it is been estimated that equipped vehicles with ESC will reduce single-vehicle crashes of passenger cars by 26% and single-vehicle crashes of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) by 48%. Preventing single-vehicle loss-of-control crashes is the most effective way to reduce deaths resulting from rollover crashes. It is been estimated that ESC has the potential to prevent 64% of passenger car rollovers and 85 percent of SUV rollovers in single-vehicle crashes.

Side Air Bags (SAB)

Side-impact air bag (SAB) technology has advanced rapidly in recent years. SABs offer additional protection to two main areas of the body – the head and the chest – during side-impact crashes.

SABs can provide significant safety benefits to adults in side-impact rashes. It is been estimated that if all the vehicles on U.S. roads were equipped with head protection SABs, 700 to 1,000 lives would be saved per year in side-impact crashes. It is also been calculated that in side-impact crashes involving at least one fatality, nearly 60 percent of those killed have suffered brain injuries.

A recently issued report says a final rule to upgrade Federal motor vehicle safety standard to require vehicle manufacturers to assure side-impact protection for a wider range of occupant sizes and over a broader range of seating positions. It will likely lead to the installation of new technologies, such as side curtain air bags and torso side air bags capable of improving head and thorax protection to occupants of vehicles that are laterally struck by higher-riding SUVs.

SABs providing head protection show these footnotes in the charts in this brochure: curtain (c), tubular (t), or combo (b). Curtain and tubular SABs typically deploy downward from the vehicle’s roof rail. Combination or “combo” air bags typically deploy upward from the seat back and provide both head and chest protection. SABs providing chest-only protection will have the following footnotes in the charts depending on their mount location: door-mounted (d) or seat-mounted (s). You should read the owner’s manual for specific information about the side impact air bag system in a vehicle.

SAB Out-of-Position tests

A Technical Working Group of experts representing the automotive and insurance industries developed voluntary SAB test procedures to minimize the potential risk of SAB related injuries for out-of-position occupants. If a vehicle has an “M” in the column labeled “SAB Out-of-Position Tests,” it means the manufacturer has reported to the government that all SABs in the vehicle have successfully completed the full battery of tests specified under the voluntary guidelines.