What safety features should I look for in a new car?

Buying a new car can feel a lot like a game of Scrabble, particularly when it comes to safety acronyms.

Everyone wants their car to be as safe as possible, of course, but do you really need to tick every box, and are some kinds of technology better than others?

Fortunately we can simplify the Alphagetti by splitting safety systems into three types, as yet another acronym, ANCAP (the Australasian New Car Assessment Program) itself does:

Structural Integrity - how the safety cell holds up around you in a collision;

Safety Features - airbags, Antilock Braking Systems (ABS) and Electronic Stability Programs (ESC);

Safety Assist Technologies - advanced systems that help the driver avoid a crash altogether, or at least restrict its severity, including Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) and Fatigue Monitoring Systems (FMS).

ANCAP provides star ratings for most new cars sold in Australia, but the fact that the vast majority of them get five out of five stars means you really need to dig a little deeper.

To drive well, and safely, you need really good vision

What should you look for?

Looking should actually be your first consideration. To drive well, and safely, you need really good vision and to be comfortable and relaxed in your vehicle. Check that you've got excellent visuals in all directions, and look for blindspots from the B-pillar (or the C-Pillar in convertibles with the roof up) when overtaking.

Think about size, too. Sure, it's nice to be riding high and looking down on creation from a giant Toyota Prado, but do you need a car that big, and will you be comfortable driving, and parking, one? You might be better off in a smaller, more efficient Kluger.

Or even a station wagon rather than an SUV.

Look behind you

Reversing cameras, designed to save the lives of children in carparks and driveways, were once the preserve of big SUVs but are now turning up in vehicles of all sizes.

But do you really need one in a Hyundai i30-sized compact car? Or could you just turn your head?

Drivers should know where all children are before moving the vehicle

NRMA spokesman Jack Halley says reversing cameras are useful for parking but are "not the silver bullet for child protection".

"A child can run in from the side out of range of the camera or too fast for the driver to stop," Mr Halley says. "Drivers should know where all children are before moving the vehicle."

Look out, before it's too late

The NRMA recommends you check ANCAP and the Used Car Safety Ratings, and select only five-star rated vehicles.

The major passive feature is ESC

Mr Halley, however, believes one safety feature is the most important in modern cars.

"I'd suggest the major passive feature is ESC (then you get ABS anyway) - it has been shown by research by Monash University, sponsored by NRMA, to be highly effective in preventing crashes, particularly in SUVs," he says.

Electronic Stability Control, now mandated by law in new cars, is perhaps as important and seismic a safety feature as the original seatbelts.

By stopping a car from sliding and a driver from losing control, stability-control programs - which monitor the position of your car and can apply the brakes to the inside wheels and/or reduce power to keep you in a straight line - prevent an unknowably large number of car accidents every year. Including the worst kind, where someone loses control and spears into oncoming traffic.

If you're buying second hand, it should be the number one thing on your safety checklist.

The car that looks out for you

Mr Halley says the other feature that really shows promise is Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB).

"It's not in many vehicles yet, but it is showing great promise to be highly effective." he says.

The first company to make such a system - City Safety - standard on its cars was, unsurprisingly, Volvo, back in 2008. City Safety, which initially worked at speeds up to 30km/h but now operates at up 50km/h, can detect an impending collision with the car in front of you and will automatically apply the brakes and, at those speeds, stop the impact from occurring.

Volvo spokesman Oliver Peagam says his company is very much focused on preventing accidents before they happen.

"There are now 1 million vehicles on the road with City Safety, which covers a whole suite of safety features, like Adaptive Cruise Control and automatic braking - we use both a camera and radar in our system, while other companies tend to only use one," Mr Peagam explains.

"City Safety is standard across all our cars and as well as preventing you running up the back of someone, it has third-party benefits. If you're insured with AIG, they can give you a reduction in your insurance premium of up to 20 per cent for having it."

Mr Peagam says he believes ANCAP will make AEB mandatory by 2017.

While it's been mainly turning up in European marques, Subaru now offers an excellent AEB system as well, as part of its EyeSight safety package.

Wakey, wakey

Fatigue Monitoring Systems (FMS) are another technology currently only found in premium vehicles, but one that will trickle down to ordinary cars, just as ESP did.

Mercedes Attention Assist is one such system we've tried ourselves, and its ability to notice when you're tired - simply by measuring your steering inputs and pedal movements - and warn you about it is incredible. It will save lives, and no doubt already has.

Mr Halley says BSM and LDM are two more acronyms worth considering.

"Other technologies now being introduced, like blind-spot and lane-departure warning can be particularly useful as well for our ageing population that finds it difficult to turn their heads," he says.