Gauteng is a busy province with people who are constantly on the go. So it’s no surprise that there is a high motor vehicle accident toll here that needs to be addressed.
If you’re a local looking to buy from second-hand car dealers in Gauteng, make sure you look for a safety-first car with all the necessary features. You spend time in your car every day to go to work, drop off the kids, go to the store, visit your friends and make it to family gatherings. Your vehicle choice, therefore, needs to be reliable and safe. Which you can find at certified car dealerships in and around Gauteng.
Here are some of the standard and additional safety features that you should try your best to find in the car you want to buy. But, remember, there is always the option to have them installed after you buy as well. Just be sure to include those costs in your budget when looking at second-hand car financing.
Having shatterproof glass windows in your vehicle means you won't be harmed by sharp-edged glass pieces flying in your direction should you be involved in an accident or attempted hijacking. Shatterproof glass also makes your windows stronger and less likely to break easily.
Another safety feature concerning the windows of your car is safety-glass or smash-and-grab film that strengthens your windows. Depending on the film thickness you choose, you could bulletproof your windows if you wanted to. And along with the smash-and-grab film, comes a window tint. This provides an added level of security to your car as it becomes difficult for people to see into your vehicle and locate your valuables while you’re stopped at a traffic light.
You can only tint your windows to a certain extent before it’s considered too dark for the driver to have clear visibility of the road. It’s also not a guaranteed solution to carjackings but it does provide an extra element of protection and peace of mind.
In emergency braking situations, it often occurs that the vehicle’s wheels lock up and the car skidding across the road which isn’t ideal. That’s why you need to find a car dealership that sells used cars with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) that prevents the above from happening and allows the driver to remain in control of the car and its steering.
Hopefully, you will never need to slam on brakes, but knowing that your vehicle has ABS to help you maintain control it will always be in your safety’s best interest. ABS is one of the three standard safety features that all vehicles should have these days.
Another standard safety feature for vehicles is airbags. And not just for the driver and front passenger seat. The people at the back of your car also need to be protected and if you have kids, even more so. It’s possible to have up to eight airbags inside your vehicle and while not all of them are considered necessary, the main ones include your driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags to provide protection on impact all around.
The last of the three standard safety features to look for in a vehicle you’re wanting to buy is electronic stability control (ESC). Also known as the electronic stability program (ESP) or dynamic stability control (DSC).
What the ESC in your car will do, is ensure that your steering input is consistent with the direction the car is driving in. Should there be an inconsistency with traction, ESC will kick in and start braking the necessary wheels to place the vehicle back on the driver’s desired course and regain the tyres’ grip on the road.
We mentioned that the accident statistics in Gauteng are rather high. As a driver, you always need to be on high-alert and aware of your surrounding. Unfortunately, driving has become a daily routine for most people and there’s no longer a sense of urgency around blindspot checks, indicating or pre-emptive driving.
But that’s why manufacturers have designed sensor-based safety technologies for vehicles and, for lack of a better term, lazy drivers. These include:
You want to be safe out on Gauteng’s roads. And in order to do that, you need to buy a car with all the standard safety features as well as a few of the extras. Prevent yourself from being part of or the cause of an accident, and save yourself from being a vulnerable carjacking target. Even if it’s only the least you can do, it’s worth it to do something for your safety.
