The average American spends more than 293 hours on the road each year. Considering how much time you spend in your car, it’s only natural that you want to make sure your ride is as safe and comfortable as possible. The vehicle that you drive plays a big role in your safety on the road. Highly ranked vehicles have ample safety features to help prevent collisions, as well as a full suite of air bags to keep you safe if a collision does occur.
Even the best vehicle can’t always prevent an accident, though. That’s why you need to have solid insurance coverage in place too. Here at American Auto Insurance, we offer a full range of coverage options, including plans that meet SR22 regulations. Our plans are among the most reliable and most affordable car insurance options for Chicago, Illinois, drivers.
The Safest Sportscar
If you want to jet about in a speedy sportscar while still enjoying top safety features, the 2023 Ford Mustang Coupe is your best bet. This vehicle got a five-out-of-five safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave it a “Good” rating in all crash tests with the exception of the small overlap front test, where it was ranked “Acceptable.” Safety features include lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot detection, brake assist, and daytime running lights.
AdvanceTrac stability control and a rearview camera help you navigate confidently on the road. A suite of air bags keeps you safe in the event of an accident, including front- and side-impact, overhead, and driver’s knee air bags.
The Safest Sedan
The 2023 Acura Integra was designated a Top Safety Pick+ for 2022 from the IIHS, which is the highest safety award available. Its collision mitigation braking system earned it a “Superior” crash avoidance rating. This system alerts drivers to potential frontal impacts and can apply the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Acura also scored five stars in frontal, side, and rollover crash tests.
Like all Acura sedans and SUVs, the Integra is equipped with AcuraWatch, which includes adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, lane-keeping assist, road departure mitigation, pedestrian detection, traffic-sign recognition, and traffic-jam assist. The Integra also features a head-up display that shows the speed and driver-assist alerts right on the windshield so you can keep your eyes up as you drive.
The Safest SUV
The 2023 Honda Pilot is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ with a five-star overall vehicle rating. The Pilot scored top ratings in crash avoidance and mitigation evaluations with excellent results for headlight performance and both daytime and nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian avoidance. The SUV is well suited to families with seating for up to eight and top ratings for its child seat anchors. Four of its rear seats feature complete child seat attachment hardware.
The Honda Pilot comes equipped with Honda Sensing, which includes blind-spot monitoring, automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlights. The 2023 Honda Pilot also has the manufacturer’s award-winning front passenger air bag design. With three chambers, this air bag provides outstanding protection from frontal impact and lateral collision forces.
The Safest Minivan
The 2023 Toyota Sienna got five out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The IIHS named it a Top Safety Pick+ with superior vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and advanced vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash protection both during the day and night. The advanced air bag system includes 10 standard air bags for optimal protection in any collision.
Equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, the Sienna offers lane departure alert with steering assist, full-speed range dynamic radar cruise control, lane tracing assist, and a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection. With five LATCH locations, this is a prime pick for families. The Sienna also features a rear-seat reminder to make sure you never overlook any precious cargo in the back.
The Safest Truck
The 2023 Honda Ridgeline is a superior option if you’re looking for a safe pickup truck. It won five stars for its front- and side-impact assessments and four stars for the rollover test. The IIHS rated its vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention as outstanding. The Ridgeline comes with the Honda Sensing suite of features that includes forward collision warning, lane departure warning, a collision mitigation braking system, and a road departure mitigation system. On select trims, you can get front and rear parking sensors, a blind-spot information system, and a cross-traffic monitor.
Every Ridgeline model has a powerful Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure and a suite of air bags that includes side curtain air bags with a rollover sensor, SmartVent front side air bags, and advanced front air bags. All second-row seating positions feature a LATCH system for anchoring child seats. Both the driver’s and front passenger’s seats have belt reminders.
The Safest Overall Vehicle
When it comes to finding the safest vehicle on the road, size matters. In nearly all cases, larger vehicles are safer than smaller ones. Cars average 36 deaths per 10 billion miles while SUVs have just 19. Trucks are twice as safe as cars, averaging just 18 deaths per 10 billion miles. Minivans are the safest vehicles of all, averaging only 15 driver deaths for every 10 billion miles on the road.
The science behind this trend is fairly simple. A larger vehicle will transfer more energy to the object that it comes into contact with. If you’re in an SUV, you’re five times more likely to walk away from a collision than if you’re in a car.
Small sportscars are among the most dangerous options on the market, but nearly all vehicles on the road today are safer than those of the past. Car accident fatalities in 2019 were less than half of what they were in 1980. This is due not only to the features of the vehicle but also to local policies, infrastructure, and driver behavior.
Keep Your Vehicle Insured
American Auto Insurance keeps Illinois drivers well insured. We’ll walk you through every step of the insurance process from evaluating your options to selecting your plan. We can even set you up with SR22 auto insurance if the state requires this coverage for you. Call us now to get started.
2024 Ford Mustang GT Fastback Dark Horse by Rutger van der Maar is licensed with CC BY 2.0 DEED
