Bisnar Chase 2019 attorneys

Cautions to Take When Buying a Used Car

ABC 7 News Special Safety Report with Brian Chase

Brian Chase of Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys explains to ABC 7 News safety features you should look for when buying a used car.

Recently, KABC here in southern California decided to do a feature on safety features in used cars and Binsar Chase's own Brian Chase was consulted as an expert. Their thesis was that if you want to buy an older, used car with certain safety features, you'd have to know when those safety features were widely installed in vehicles.

For instance, the side curtain airbag wasn't installed into cars until 1998, so any car manufactured beforehand wouldn't have them. Side curtain airbags can prevent your head from banging into the side windows of the car and can prevent you from being ejected out of the car, Chase said.

Electronic Safety Control (ESC) is another extremely important safety feature in vehicles, but was only introduced to a few vehicles in 1995. Consumer reports auto expert said they have, "Long been a big fan of stability control. We think it's the most important safety feature since the seatbelt." Anti-lock brakes, which pump the brake pads against the wheel much faster than a human could, were standard or optional in 1987.

One of the biggest safety features in a vehicle is its seatbelts. Before laws mandated it, some back seats only had lap bands, which were responsible for several injuries and deaths. Until 1989 consumers didn't have the option of lap and shoulder bands. Chase said to make sure all of the seatbelts in your used car have a 3-point belt, meaning they have lap and shoulder belts for the utmost safety.

Brian Chase is an expert in auto defects and has mountains of knowledge on the subject. He and his firm have crash tested many vehicles and found defects in seatbelts, seatbacks, SUV roofs, and many others.

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