Insurance experts say these are these are the top seven things every driver should have:

1. Electronic stability control - This feature will be required on all new passenger vehicles by 2012. What ESC does is sense a skid and works with the car’s antilock brakes to regain control. Especially good if [...]]]> Add Side Impact Airbags

Insurance experts say these are these are the top seven things every driver should have:

1. Electronic stability control - This feature will be required on all new passenger vehicles by 2012. What ESC does is sense a skid and works with the car’s antilock brakes to regain control. Especially good if you have to drive in bad weather conditions.

2. Air Bags – Insurance companies feel the more airbags you have the better off you are. In addition to driver and front passenger bags, you want to have side or side-torso bags which protect front occupants from a side impact. Side curtain bags inflate from the roof, reducing head injuries for all those in the car.

3. Antilock brakes – Without ABS, when you hit the brakes on a slippery road your brakes may lock up. Locked up brakes mean you will lose steering control and could go into a dangerous skid. Antilock brakes will prevent your wheel from locking up and let you to stay in control of your vehicle.

4. Tire-pressure monitoring – Mandatory on all passenger vehicles since September 2007, the system monitors tire air pressure. If pressure drops a dashboard warning light flashes. This is a feature which not only increases safety but fuel economy as well. Under inflated tires cause you to use more gas and they increase the speed at which your tires wear out. So this feature saves in all kinds of ways.

5. Safety belt pretensioners – In a collision, these sensors trigger a device that instantly takes up any slack in the front belts. This makes the safety belts better at preventing you from coming into contact with the car interior and also decreases the possibility you will be ejected from the car.

6. Lane marker warning systems – The latest lane departure warning systems use a camera to detect if your wheels are crossing a lane marker. If you’re not using your turn signal at the time, you’ll be alerted. An alarm may sound or the seat or steering wheel will vibrate.

7. Fender bender warning system – Upcoming radar systems sense if the vehicle in front of yours is slowing or stopped. If you’re traveling at 18 mph or less, the system will sense an impending fender bender and hit the brakes hard to avoid a crunch.

Besides getting the right safety features, the type of car you buy will also affect your car insurance rates. See our post Cheapest Autos To Insure to find out which cars are really the cheapest autos to insure.