Active and passive car safety
The terms "active" and "passive" are simple but important terms in the world of automotive safety.
"Active safety" is used to refer to technology assisting in the prevention of a crash and "passive safety" to components of the vehicle (primarily airbags, seatbelts and the physical structure of the vehicle) that help to protect occupants during a crash.
The term Active Safety can be used in two distinct ways.
The first, mainly used in the US, refers to safety systems that help avoid accidents, such as good steering and brakes. In this context, passive safety refers to features that help reduce the effects of an accident, such as seat belts, airbags and strong body structures. This use is essentially interchangeable with the terms primary and secondary safety that tend to be used in the UK.
However, Active Safety is increasingly being used to describe systems that use an understanding of the state of the vehicle to both avoid and minimise the effects of a crash. These include braking systems, like brake assist, traction control systems and electronic stability control systems, that interpret signals from various sensors to help the driver control the vehicle. Additionally, forward-looking, sensor-based systems such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems including adaptive cruise control and collision warning/avoidance/mitigation systems are also considered as active safety systems under this definition.
These forward-looking technologies are expected to play an increasing role in collision avoidance and mitigation in the future. Most major component suppliers are developing such systems.
Unfortunately active and passive safety is not very important to many car buyers in Thailand. Many car buyers here would rather use their money on things that make their car look smart instead of using the money on things that make their car more safe. And the car manufacturers know this, so most cars in the lower price range misses out on important safety features, but they all look sporty and smart.
Very important safety features for a tall heavy vehicle like brake assist, traction control and electronic stability control systems are missing on most cars, pickups and SUV sold in Thailand. This is because these systems, if available, is only available on the most expensive model in the model line up, which is the one with the largest most powerful engine or is the one with the highest tech level. Many lower spec pickup, misses out on even basic safety features like ABS. These top spec safety equipped models are only sold in limited numbers here in Thailand and are almost never available for rental, because rental companies have other priorities than safety.
For rental companies providing a competitive price is often the most important factor, and that mean saving on purchase price and maintenance. As the safest models have the highest price, and most equipment that can go wrong, these models are not very interesting for rental companies. As a renter you often have no idea what spec level the car you just rented have and what safety equipment is included, and the rental companies knows this very well, so there is no incentive for them to offer the safest and most expensive model to their customers.
All luxury cars from the major car manufactures in Europe come with a high level of active and passive safety. But almost none of these are available for rental, only long term leasing or purchase.
There might be some top spec cars out there for rental, but I have just never seen any in the 26 years I have travelled to Thailand, renting cars in Thailand, and the years I have lived in Thailand.
"Active safety" is used to refer to technology assisting in the prevention of a crash and "passive safety" to components of the vehicle (primarily airbags, seatbelts and the physical structure of the vehicle) that help to protect occupants during a crash.
The term Active Safety can be used in two distinct ways.
The first, mainly used in the US, refers to safety systems that help avoid accidents, such as good steering and brakes. In this context, passive safety refers to features that help reduce the effects of an accident, such as seat belts, airbags and strong body structures. This use is essentially interchangeable with the terms primary and secondary safety that tend to be used in the UK.
However, Active Safety is increasingly being used to describe systems that use an understanding of the state of the vehicle to both avoid and minimise the effects of a crash. These include braking systems, like brake assist, traction control systems and electronic stability control systems, that interpret signals from various sensors to help the driver control the vehicle. Additionally, forward-looking, sensor-based systems such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems including adaptive cruise control and collision warning/avoidance/mitigation systems are also considered as active safety systems under this definition.
These forward-looking technologies are expected to play an increasing role in collision avoidance and mitigation in the future. Most major component suppliers are developing such systems.
Unfortunately active and passive safety is not very important to many car buyers in Thailand. Many car buyers here would rather use their money on things that make their car look smart instead of using the money on things that make their car more safe. And the car manufacturers know this, so most cars in the lower price range misses out on important safety features, but they all look sporty and smart.
Very important safety features for a tall heavy vehicle like brake assist, traction control and electronic stability control systems are missing on most cars, pickups and SUV sold in Thailand. This is because these systems, if available, is only available on the most expensive model in the model line up, which is the one with the largest most powerful engine or is the one with the highest tech level. Many lower spec pickup, misses out on even basic safety features like ABS. These top spec safety equipped models are only sold in limited numbers here in Thailand and are almost never available for rental, because rental companies have other priorities than safety.
For rental companies providing a competitive price is often the most important factor, and that mean saving on purchase price and maintenance. As the safest models have the highest price, and most equipment that can go wrong, these models are not very interesting for rental companies. As a renter you often have no idea what spec level the car you just rented have and what safety equipment is included, and the rental companies knows this very well, so there is no incentive for them to offer the safest and most expensive model to their customers.
All luxury cars from the major car manufactures in Europe come with a high level of active and passive safety. But almost none of these are available for rental, only long term leasing or purchase.
There might be some top spec cars out there for rental, but I have just never seen any in the 26 years I have travelled to Thailand, renting cars in Thailand, and the years I have lived in Thailand.