Parent-Approved Car Features — Gear Up for Safer, Happier Drives
According to the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) guide to vehicle child safety, 'Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children,' but, 'The rate of child passenger deaths per million children also has fallen dramatically to 11.9 deaths per million children in 2022, a 61% reduction from 1975.'
These reductions are due in part to modern safety features. As a parent, you want your children to be safe in a worst-case scenario, and you want them to have all the comfort and joy they can in your family car. Here are some features that parents should look for in their cars.
While choosing what features to include on this list, safety was the main priority. Safety features lists compiled by car companies and organizations like AAA and IIHS helped inform the content included here.
When it came to non-safety features, like entertainment and comfort, I relied on my own experience of owning a minivan for over six years now, as well as other parent reviews from places like Reddit. As always, the features included here are not meant to be a complete list but a solid overview of where to start your research.
According to a list of family-friendly car features from Mazda, forward automatic braking will be standard in most vehicles by 2029. The automatic braking system stops your car if it detects you might hit something ahead of you. This is ideal for a family as it can help keep you and your family safe inside and outside the car.
As explained by AAA's post explaining safety features, the Backup Collision Intervention system, like Automatic Emergency Braking, stops your car if it detects that you could run into something while going in reverse. Noticing small children behind your car can be difficult, but the inclusion of features like collision prevention and cameras helps to protect our little ones.
I live in a busy neighborhood by a park that constantly has children running in and out of homes to play in the park. Our neighbor's kids even play street hockey regularly, making some sort of camera system feature essential, not just for my family's safety but the safety of others. Fortunately, this feature is easy to find as it has become standard in new cars since 2018, as pointed out by Universal Toyota.
Blind Spot Detection is another essential feature for long family road trips. Family cars tend to get packed pretty full for road trips. You can't forget your toddler's favorite stuffie, shirt, or blanket! Blind Spot Detection is another important safety feature that helps you navigate as you drive. With Blind Spot Detection, you switch lanes safely and keep yourself and your little ones safe as you drive busy freeways.
Another feature found in the US News article about family car features is a surround-view camera. Like the backup camera, surround-view provides you with just that much more visibility by offering a bird's-eye view of your vehicle. This camera is a family-friendly car feature that allows you to get a clear picture of any obstructions to your car as you back out of your driveway or pull into a parking spot.
As included in the aforementioned Mazda list of family-friendly car features, some parents prefer to set up their phones to play music for their kids. Yes, you've heard Baby Shark a million times already, but being able to jump into your toddler's favorite song when they need a pick-me-up is a must for parents, especially when keeping kids happy on long road trips.
I'm a big fan of the DVD player in my Honda Odyssey. Not only did it give a second life to my old DVD collection, which was gathering dust in a storage unit, but it also made long road trips so much easier. My Honda's entertainment system also comes with input hookups, allowing us to use the DVD screen for more than just movies.
As seen on Reddit, you can even hook up a video game system! Long road trips are just made easier when your kids can watch their favorite movies and play their favorite games.
The LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system is a simple feature but essential for families. The LATCH system consists of hooks installed in the middle and back rows of seats. These hooks allow car seats to securely attach to the car, without relying on seatbelts to keep the car seat anchored. This is a wonderful feature that likely already exists in your car; behind that, these hooks have been standard in most cars since late 2002, according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
'Things I'm looking to have for sure in a [family] SUV: Leather seats because cloth ones get dirty/goopy too easily and hard to clean.' A user on the Parenting subreddit stated this, and it couldn't be more true.
You can't predict how your kid is going to react to a drive, especially on long car rides. Your kid might get car sick, that Happy Meal might not be sitting well with them, and then — yep, clean up time. As a parent, you owe it to yourself to make things as easy as you can for yourself.
In the same Parenting subreddit post, another user makes a comment that reminds us that sometimes the simplest of features can be so essential.
Answering the question of what car features make your life easier as a parent, this Redditor said, 'The whole 'stereo controls on the steering wheel' is genius.' I fully agree. This is such a simple feature that most people wouldn't think twice about, but adjusting the music without taking my hands off the wheel or eyes off the road is an essential feature.
A report from US News explains how the Hands-Free Trunk is a saver for the on-the-go parent. Parenting itself comes with several additional features, and those features tend to take up arm space. School, drama, sports, birthday parties, strollers — whatever it is, parenting tends to fill up arm space when taking your little ones from A to B. Now imagine carrying all that stuff and opening your Hands-Free Trunk with a gesture from your foot!
Ralph Honda highlights the benefits of having in-cabin cameras. With a quick selection from the vehicle's control center, an image of the back seats of the car appears. This allows the driver to keep their head forward, facing the road and not turning around to see what's going on behind them. The goal of all family trips is safety, and this feature keeps the parents informed without pulling them completely away from their driving.
Pairing nicely with the In-Cabin Camera feature, an Intercom System allows you to reach your kid even during the hustle and bustle of a road trip. Also found in US News's report on family-friendly car features, the Intercom System temporarily takes over the car's audio system and lets you talk to your kids in the back. This is a great feature when trying to get your kids' attention without having to shout.
Also from the AAA article about best safety features, the Automatic High Beams have sensors that detect light sources and will automatically dim the lights when another vehicle approaches. This feature also automatically turns your high beams on when it detects there are no other cars on the road. This is a safety feature that adds to the overall safety of your vehicle by helping you drive safely by using the proper lights.
Honda describes their Driver Attention Monitor as tracking how well you stay in your lanes and focus on driving. While on, your display will alert you if you are drifting too often and might need a break soon.
In the previously mentioned Mazda list of family-friendly features, it notes, 'Driver Attention Alert is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving.' It is still up to you to drive responsibly for your family's safety. These features just help to keep you focused on what matters most when transporting your family.
Some minivans come with a built-in vacuum cleaner as a family-friendly feature. This can help get those quick spills and messes left behind by little hands. As reviewed by a user on the Honda Odyssey Subreddit, it's not the most powerful vacuum, but they say, 'I've used ours lots on road trips and camping and quick jobs where I couldn't be bothered to go find another vacuum. If you have kids that make a mess then [it's] totally worth it.'
A gentle debate on a car subreddit asks which family car has the most comfortable driver's seat. Especially when taking your kids on family road trips, you need a comfortable driving seat. Just like that subreddit, there are lots of opinions about the most comfortable driver's chair, but that's where your research is necessary to find what's right for you. Otherwise, how are you going to make it on that long road trip to Disney World?
Universal Toyota discusses the importance of this safety feature. On long road trips, you hit the cruise control. This system doesn't brake for you if there is danger, but it will detect traffic flow and help you slow down to properly and safely maintain a travel distance between the car in front of you. This is a great safety feature to have in a car full of your loved ones.
The Rear Passenger Alert feature simply reminds you to make sure your kid comes with you when you get out of your car, so you don't risk leaving them behind, as described by Kelly Blue Book. This might seem like a simple feature, but as NHTSA teaches us, children have a risk of losing their lives due to heatstroke when left in a hot car. These hot car deaths happen 52% of the time just because someone forgot to check the backseat for their kid. That's why this seemingly simple feature can be a lifesaver.
Have you ever closed the sliding door of a minivan from the 90s? The force you need to exert on that door to close it felt like you could take someone's hand off! Automatic sliding doors remove the fear of a guillotine door.
Much like the hands-free trunk, having sliding doors that open up with the touch of a button is so convenient when piling kids in and out of your van. Speaking from personal preference, once you have a minivan with automatic sliding doors, you will never want to go back.
While discussing vehicle safety, it's important to note that one of your family's most important safety features is you. These features are meant only to assist in your family's well-being. Being informed and researching these features on your own gives you a leg up when making sure your family is getting what they need.
Check out IIHS or NHTSA, which rate car safety and are great resources to begin researching on your own. Of all the family-friendly features on this list, you are the most important one. Safe driving out there!
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