Safety

One of the joys of the holiday season is the opportunity to see family and friends that live far away. Unfortunately, this often involves more than a simple journey of “over the river and through the wood.” Crowded highways are the new normal, resulting in greater exposure to potential accidents. Many drivers will be travelling in unfamiliar areas, which could lead to distractions from checking the GPS. Winter weather can be unpredictable, making the roads themselves dangerous, and there is always the unfortunate possibility that revelers will hit the road before they’ve completely sobered up. The best defense against unforeseen misfortune is preparedness. If you take the time to prepare your vehicle and make sure your coverage is up to date, you’ll be able to hit the road with confidence!

Driving has become such a normal part of our everyday lives that it’s easy to forget the risks we take when getting into a vehicle.  While some take safety to heart at an early age, it can be an eye opener for others when they become parents and begin a journey with their precious cargo. Luckily, the rules for keeping your children safe while driving are the same for safe driving in general, but car safety also extends beyond on-the-road practices. Knowing how to keep your family safe in, out, and around your vehicle will help instill good safety habits in children, ease stress and worry in parents, and reduce the number of accidents your family is involved in overall.

After years of delay and hundreds of avoidable deaths, all cars sold from the 2018 model year onward in the US and Canada were required to have a backup camera (the EU is phasing them in during 2022, and the UK is discussing them). But while this important safety feature is now standard across the board, most cars on the roads today are not equipped with a reverse camera. That’s where an aftermarket backup camera comes in. We’ve combed through the top-rated models across styles and price points to bring you what we think are the best choices for different needs.

Looking at bringing home a new truck? It might be time to review your insurance policy to make sure you have the right coverage. Truck insurance for your pickup is largely the same as car insurance for your car. So, switching to a pickup doesn’t necessarily mean you have to switch to a different policy, but there are differences. Here are some tips to help you shop for truck insurance that fits your needs.

You know the scene… You’re driving along, taking in the sights, when suddenly – WHAP. A pebble, or stone, or other piece of road debris flies into your windshield, putting a chip or crack in the glass. Go to  Safelite.com and schedule an appointment. It could start spreading immediately, or maybe you say to yourself  “I’ve got time – I’ll take it to Safelite® next week”. And before you know it, the damage has spread. Now it’s obstructing your view and distracting you while you drive.

The biggest leaps in automotive technology over the past few years haven’t been in propulsion; they’ve been in driver safety. The average new vehicle is safer than it’s ever been, with highly advanced, sophisticated systems that can literally “see” the road and warn of – or react to – potential threats.

If you are an experienced off-roader, you have likely used a winch more than a few times. If you have vast experience pulling yourself or others out of sticky situations, you have likely had a traditional winch hook slip and cause an even bigger problem. The little safety latch that holds a rope or cable in place will help in some situations, but that piece is not load bearing, so if the line shifts, that little latch quickly breaks. When that happens, you can suddenly lose your load, but this can be prevented with a closed system winching set up from Factor 55.

On February 1, 2022, the Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Steven S. Cliff, signed Regulation Identifier Number 2127-AL83. That’s a lot of bureaucracy for something that’s going to change the way we drive at night forever, because RIN 2127-AL83 makes adaptive headlights legal.

If you spend much of your free time off-roading with your truck or SUV, the odds are good that you are familiar with closed system winching products like the lineup offered by Factor 55. If you are not, you should be, as closed system winching is safer, preventing the cable or D-ring from shifting against the passive latch in a traditional winch hook. The closed system winching components also look a whole lot nicer than the hook that came with your winch, tucking neatly against your fairlead.

If you drive in the winter, it’s going to happen sooner or later. Your car gets stuck in the snow. Don’t panic, you can usually get your car, truck, or SUV out of the snow without needing a tow truck or other heavy equipment to do the work for you. Here are eight steps for when your car is stuck in the snow.

It’s a cold, dark night and you’re walking out to your car. You get in, press the start button, and instead of the usual sound of your engine bursting to life you hear nothing. Just a small click comes from the front of your car as dim gauges cast a dull glow onto your distraught face. You need a boost, but do you know how? Here’s what you need to know to jump-start your car, truck, or SUV.

Your car’s battery is what makes everything in your car go. From your ignition to your radio, if you have a bad battery, none of them will work properly. A car battery, even the best one, won’t last forever. Five to seven years is the typical lifespan of a high-quality battery, less in areas of extreme heat and cold. When it’s time for a new one, you can change your car battery yourself. Here’s how to do it.

I’d like to introduce you to a long-time friend and enemy of mine. It’s called the Snow Belt.

Your author’s wife has a nasty habit of second-guessing his every move behind the wheel.

Updated September 2019

Getting a flat tire on the road can be a scary experience, but what you do in the moments after a tire loses pressure is very important. Here’s why you really shouldn’t drive on a flat tire.

Of the roughly 25,000 souls that perish inside a car on American roadways each year, roughly a quarter of those are passengers.  Honda has developed a new type of airbag targeted at saving those lives in particular.

What is traction control? Well, before we get into that, let’s talk about traction itself.

Volvo’s latest announcement might not make it popular in Germany, but the company hopes that it will make its cars safer. The Swedish company will lower top speed limits on all its vehicles, starting with model year 2021.

Expanding by leaps and bounds in the new millennium, Subaru effectively  quadrupled its share of the U.S. market in the process.

The frog-faced  Nissan Juke appeared in dealer showrooms during the 2011 model year.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently conducted its passenger-side small overlap front crash test on several midsize SUVs.

FCA is recalling 4.8 million vehicles in the U.S. that could get stuck in cruise control.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has begun putting the Tesla Model 3 through its safety tests.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has awarded the 2018 Genesis G80 Sport with a five-star overall safety rating.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded the 2019 Kia Sorento with a Top Safety Pick+ rating.

Reverse cameras are now a legal requirement for all passenger vehicles in the U.S.

A bunch of different car companies are currently trying to decide for you how exactly you’d like your car to drive you around.

Honda has announced one-million vehicles are on U.S. roads with Honda Sensing, but millions more are coming.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has evaluated seven small SUVs in the passenger-side small overlap front crash test.

A new report has shown that distracted driving is at an all-time high, which isn’t a surprise. Although semi-autonomous car technology is supposed to make roads safer, is it actually making the distracted driving problem worse?

Hyundai and Kia are being investigated by safety watchdog groups in the United States due to multiple reports of airbag failures in the Korean brands’ vehicles.

Having good visibility during the rain is important for safe driving. Keeping your windshield clear takes more than a good set of wipers, however.

The 2018 Hyundai Elantra has earned the highest safety rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Technician Paul Kennaley witnesses something frightening almost every week: customers who ignore warning lights in their vehicle instrument cluster but fail to take proper (if any) action. Frequently, this results in expensive problems.

According to a recent report, there are about a dozen developing class action lawsuits that involve exploding sunroofs.

Traffic can be bad in certain areas not only during Christmas, but through to the New Year as well.

Traffic during the holidays can be a serious drag, especially if you live in a major metropolitan area.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has made it tougher to earn a Top Safety Pick+ award for 2018.

Earlier this year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced a new passenger-side crash test that is now part of its criteria for a Top Safety Pick award.

Traction control technology became a mandatory feature on all passenger cars and light trucks in 2012 and the driving community is all the safer for it.

As with the other fluids in your car, engine coolant plays a big role in how your car is running and should be monitored consistently. The frequency of checks will depend on the type of vehicle as well as its overall mechanical condition and driving history.

The 2018 Ford F-150 isn’t eligible for the highest IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award because all the available headlights are rated poor.

The 2017 Jeep Compass receives a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Volvo has earned a top rating from a safety rating agency.

At least 859 complaints about exploding sunroofs have been filed in the past 22 years.

The Subaru Crosstrek and WRX have both earned IIHS Top Safety Pick+ awards.

It’s the highest award from IIHS.

The 2018 Honda Odyssey has earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and five stars from NHTSA.

No mid-size pickup truck earned an award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in a recent round of testing.

Manufacturers these days are equipping cars with more features than ever to ensure safe, comfortable and convenient rides, but savvy drivers know for ultimate preparedness, sometimes you need to take things into your own hands.

A recent patent application has revealed  Mercedes-Benz‘s external airbag design.

Poor headlights prevented the new Volkswagen Atlas from qualifying for a coveted Top Safety Pick+ award.

People still have a misconception that sitting in the back seat is safer than sitting in the front.

The 2017  MINI Countryman has earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick award, but its headlights caused it to miss out on the coveted Top Safety Pick+ distinction.

The 2017 Kia Forte has received a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The 2017 Mazda CX-5 has earned a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Another death has been linked to one of Takata’s faulty airbag inflators – the 11th confirmed fatality in a Honda vehicle related to the component.

The Lincoln Continental, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Toyota Avalon all qualify for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ award.

With self-driving cars heading our way, today’s vehicles are packed with advanced, high-tech features.