Do you remember the eons where car safety was all about a few airbags, 3-point seatbelts, anti-lock brakes and traction control? If you thought isn’t it still just those things, you’re probably living in the early 2000s. Those days are long gone. Welcome to 2019 folks, where most buyers are not willing to part from their cash unless their vehicle has some of the latest car safety measures to offer.

This comes with good reason, Insurance surveys have shown that improved or upgraded safety features in cars dramatically lower risk of injury, traffic accidents and deaths.

So, what are some of the features that motor enthusiasts today absolutely cannot do without?

1. Automatic Emergency Braking

AEB or Automatic Emergency Braking is one of the latest features technology has to offer today. The AEB pre-empts a potential collision and if the driver doesn’t respond in due time, it starts to apply the brakes to avert the collision. Studies have shown that vehicles with AEB are 50% less prone to rear-end collisions.

2. Rear-view camera assistance

This technology is rapidly becoming a stock safety feature in most cars. It serves two primary purposes. First, it gives the driver a clear and wide view of whatever is behind the vehicle when reversing and secondly, it protects children and animals from being hit when the driver reverses the car. The newer rear-view cameras also have digital parking HUDs. They move according to your steering’s alignment which makes parking as easy as 1-2-3.

3. Lane change warning

Lane change warning sounds a buzzer or gives off a warning by buzzing the seat or steering to keep a driver in his/her lane. It basically informs you that you’re crossing the white lines or are leaving your lane unintentionally. There’s also a new feature called ‘Lane Keep’ which is slowly being rolled on to production cars. Unlike a lane change warning, Lane keep steers the driver back into the original lane if he steers out of it. When the lines on the road are faint or the system has trouble detecting lanes, it can also be switched off.

4. Crumple Zones

All of the new production vehicles are required to have crumple zones. It protects the passengers by absorbing the crash energy and transferring it to weaker, outer parts of the car. This protects the passengers and strengthens the inner parts of the car. The car almost acts like a roll cage for the passengers. These zones upon collision compress in an accordion like manner and absorb the force of impact.

5. Side and curtain airbags

Airbags have been around for a while, but only dual f passenger airbags aren’t enough. Side and curtain airbags protect the passengers in case of an impact on the sides or when a car rolls over. Side curtain airbags are designed to complement traditional airbag systems to create safer vehicles all around. That is what makes them an essential addition to the safety mechanisms of the modern car.