Canadians Puzzled By Modern Vehicle Safety Features
Can safety technology still save your life on the road if you aren't even aware it exists? A troubling press release from the Toyota Canada Foundation and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation indicates that most Canadian drivers are not all that familiar with the safety equipment provided with their vehicles.
While it might not seem like ignorance of items such as airbags can be harmful - after all, don't they just automatically activate when needed? - failure to recognize that this type of gear is a part of your daily driving experience can in fact lead to injury, especially when child seats are not installed according to airbag safety requirements. Other equipment, such as anti-lock brakes, can be rendered nearly useless as drivers 'pump' the pedal instead of allowing the vehicle's computer systems prevent lock-up from occurring during an emergency stop.
The lack of education concerning modern safety equipment in cars is made that much more unusual by the fact that 15.6 percent of Canadians list vehicle safety as the most important aspect of their purchasing decision when shopping for a new automobile. This makes it the second-most cited characteristic after price. While most of the systems that draw blank stares are relatively new additions to the market - such as collision warning and adaptive headlights - they remain an increasingly important part of vehicle design and on-road safety.
