Looking for a New Vehicle?

At the beginning of the New Year, many people switch out their old vehicles with new ones. If that’s your plan, then be sure to purchase a safe vehicle.Each year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) names its top picks for the safest vehicles. The 2014 list includes the Toyota Camry, Acura MDX, Mazda 3 and the Chevrolet Spark minicar, just to name a few.With only 39 vehicles making the cut this year, compared to 130 vehicles last year, click here to compare the vehicles you’re interested in buying.Why were only 39 listed? Well, the IIHS is using tougher criteria. The site states, “Top Safety Pick requires good performance in the Institute’s moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and, for the first time, good or acceptable performance in the small overlap front test introduced in 2012. The same level of performance in those tests, along with at least a basic rating for front crash prevention, is required for the higher accolade, Top Safety Pick+.”With that stated, a safe car should have forward collision avoidance, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, adaptive headlights, park assist and backover prevention. It should also protect the driver and passenger(s) during a collision of the front corner of the car. This type of crash is responsible for many deaths and injuries but was never included in tests before.After doing your research, make sure to test drive the vehicle you want. It may look good on paper, but you need to actually feel safe driving it too.Once you find and purchase a safe vehicle, be sure to contact Risk & Insurance Consultants about auto insurance in Sandy Springs. Just call 404-459-5975. That way, you can start out the New Year with a new vehicle and new insurance!