It happens to the best of moms and dads when you have a baby; suddenly that wonderful car that you loved before you had children becomes too small, or even worse, unsafe.
Whether you have one child or more the addition of a little one to the family often brings up the discussion of whether or not a new car is needed. We all know what cars we like, and we also know that every car company out there touts almost every car they sell as being not only safe but the winner of numerous safety awards.
As the wife of somebody whose main job is to hold car companies accountable for the safety of the cars they put on the road, discussions of things like “crashworthiness”, “roof crush” and car safety is a pretty common topic in our home.
Here’s the lowdown on what to consider when you’re looking for a new car for your family:
1. Go to the Right Place for Facts. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is the best place to go for safe car recommendations. Why? Because they do their own testing independent of the car manufacturers. Most of the facts you’ll hear from manufacturers comes from testing they do on the cars themselves. That’s kind of like me baking cookies, deciding they’re the best cookies I’ve ever tasted, and then putting out an advertisement for my award winning cookies.
2. Safety and Reliability Don’t Always Go Hand in Hand. The safest car for your family may turn out to be a car that was more expensive than you planned on and also may be a car that requires more maintenance or is more expensive to repair. Remember that you don’t have to buy a new car and can always find a higher end used car that will be the same price as a lower end new car.
3. Don’t be Mini-Vain. It’s true: minivans are often safer than SUVs. This is a generalization, but a question that often comes up and has a really good reason: the higher center of gravity in SUVs means that they’re much more likely to rollover in an accident. Add to this the fact that people in Dallas do a lot of driving at high speeds on the highways and interstates and you have two really good reasons to give a minivan a second look. With a central aisle you can walk back through to easily get to your children and the ability to get people into the back seat without having to fold down seats (which is a tremendous hassle for YOU if somebody in the very back needs help getting buckled in), you have a pretty strong argument for taking a second look at the vehicle moms loves to hate.
4. What You Drive IS Important. We worry about letting out kids play outdoors, but the truth is that our kids are 25-75 TIMES more likely to die in a car accident than to be snatched from our yard and lose their life. I’m not trying to fear-monger at all, I’m just trying to encourage a different way to think about the way we all transport our little people in a busy city several times every day. Don’t be terrified of putting your kids in the car, but do be aware that taking steps to ensure their (and your) safety in the event of an accident should be a priority.
Choosing how to transport your family around the city, state, and country (for us road-trippers) can be a daunting challenge. Make an informed decision, and then get back to enjoying those fleeting moments with your family.
