Car accidents can occur at any time and while we try our best to avoid them, using the seatbelts is still needed. It can change the difference between saving lives. And to further highlight that importance, TxDOT aims to emphasize that importance with a campaign initiative starting May 8.

Beginning May 8, five inflatable characters—including Godzilla, a rock star icon and a rubber duck—will travel to major cities across Texas. Looming more than two stories tall, these unconventional messengers will warn Texans that thousands of state troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies will be on Texas streets and highways between May 18 and 31, including the Memorial Day holiday weekend, to enforce the state’s safety belt laws.

Drivers and front seat passengers can be ticketed for not wearing their safety belt and so can drivers who do not buckle up their children. Safety belt violations can result in fines ranging from $25 to $200.

(Source) Press

Tags: car accidents, front seat, gears, godzilla, holiday weekend, major cities, memorial day, messengers, police officers, rock star, rubber duck, safety belt laws, safety campaign, seat passengers, seatbelt safety, seatbelts, star icon, state troopers

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The 2009 Lexus LS 460 scores another big one as it has been awarded the best overall vehicle for 2009. Consumer Reports scored the LS 460 99 out of 100, saying the 2009 LS 460 “provides a luxurious, uncompromising driving environment.

Out of more than 300 vehicles the auto publication tested, the 2009 Lexus LS 460 led the way after examining each vehicle’s road-test score, reliability and safety. Available at Lexus of Peoria, the premier Lexus dealership in Central Illinois, the 2009 LS 460 offers all-wheel drive, the most notable upgrade from the 2008 model.

Lexus is renowned for its commitment to safety, and that is apparent in the LS 460. The LS 460 is decked out with stability control, antilock disc brakes, traction control, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, front-seat knee airbags and optional rear-seat side airbags. Another option is the pre-collision system, like that being offered on a few other new cars, that senses an impending impact and engages braking assistance and retracts seatbelts. The Lexus LS 460 scored the highest rating of “Good” for its protection in frontal offset impacts in crash testing conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The 2009 Lexus LS 460 is available in with every option at the Lexus Champaign dealer, Lexus of Peoria, the most convenient Lexus dealership Champaign has to offer and the only source for the Lexus LS 460 among all Peoria new car dealers.

(Source) Press

Tags: auto publication, central illinois, collision system, consumer reports, curtain airbags, front seat, impending impact, lexus dealership, lexus ls 460, lexus of peoria, new car dealers, new cars, rear seat, road test, side airbags, stability control, test score, traction control

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We are often reminded to buckle up for safety and apparently, Volvo has been known to adhere to this reminder. In fact, Volvo is known for inventing the 3-point seatbelt way back in 1958 and has since become a standard seatbelt in most cars we see today.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the most important lifesaving device in automotive safety: the 3-point seatbelt. Patented in 1959, the 3-point safety belt has saved more than one million lives and was introduced in the Volvo Amazon (120) and PV 544 in the Nordic markets. Volvo thus became the first car maker in the world to equip its cars with 3-point safety belts as standard.

It is the safety belt’s ability to keep the occupant in the seat that is of crucial importance. All told, the belt reduces the risk of fatalities and serious injuries from collisions by about 50 percent. Seatbelt usage in the US reached its highest rate in 2008, with 83 percent of front-seat occupants buckling up.

(Source) Press

Tags: automotive safety, car maker, Cars, collisions, front seat, lifesaving device, pv 544, safety belt, safety belts, seat occupants, seatbelt usage, Volvo, volvo amazon

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Don’t let the impressive outer designs fool you. They may capture the eye of car buyers but they are also looking for actual safety provisions that new fleet models come with. And as far as the 2009 F150 is concerned, their new K-Bag feature is certainly a big boost to the popularity if this ever popular truck from Ford Motors.

The F-150 earned an IIHS “Top Safety Pick” last November and quadruple | 5-star government crash test ratings in January — making it the only full-size pickup to achieve both top crash-test ratings. Combined with the most standard safety features in the segment, the F-150 is America’s safest full-size pickup.

Among the truck’s unmatched list of advanced standard safety features is its patented “K-bag” technology, a new front seat-mounted dual-chamber side air bag named for its unique shape, which is designed to help protect the rib cage from excessive crash forces during a side impact. This air bag is supported with a state-of-the-art side crash sensing system that uses pressure pulses from the impact to deploy the air bag 30 percent faster than a conventional system.

(Source) Press

Tags: 2009 ford f150, air bag, crash test ratings, ford motors, front seat, government crash test ratings, side impact

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