Safety and security

Cadillac Escalade / Overview / Safety and security

The '07 Escalade is designed to be among the industry's safest and most secure vehicles, with numerous safety systems and crash-avoidance technologies. New occupant protection features include head curtain side air bags with rollover protection for all seating rows and an industry-first 360-degree front safety belt pretensioner activation system.

The roof-mounted head curtain air bag tethers hold the bags in place longer for increased rollover protection and occupant containment. Sensors located at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as the side doors, provide increased and more immediate crash detection. The exclusive rear pretensioner sensors can trigger the front seat pretensioners during a rear-end collision, holding the occupants firmly in place and helping to prevent whiplash injuries.

The myriad of crash sensors are complemented by crash-avoidance systems such as standard StabiliTrak with rollover mitigation. The electronically controlled system continuously measures the side angle of the vehicle and, if a rollover appears imminent, it can deploy the side curtain air bags before the crash occurs. The 360 degrees of detection capability allows the electronically controlled safety systems to deploy in a greater variety of situations.

Crash avoidance is bolstered through enhanced driver control dynamics such as wider front and rear tracks, as well as a more responsive suspension - including a new coil-over-shock front suspension design and new rack-and-pinion steering. The Escalade is built on a stronger and stiffer, fully-boxed frame that is designed for improved crash energy management. The front frame section, for example, has improved crush dynamics that provide the equivalent of 17.7 inches (450 mm) of additional crush space - in a vehicle that is only approximately 3 inches (76.2 mm) longer than its predecessor. The frame also is designed for improved vehicle-to-vehicle height compatibility in the event of a frontal impact with a smaller vehicle.

Additional safety and security features include:
+ Standard StabiliTrak electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation technology
+ Standard dual-stage driver and front passenger frontal air bags
+ Automatic Occupant Sensing System turns off front passenger air bag if a small occupant is detected in the seat
+ Standard roof-mounted head curtain side air bags for all seating rows
+ Standard front safety belt pretensioners with activation sensors in the front, sides and rear of the vehicle
+ 5-star frontal impact ratings anticipated
+ Standard tire pressure monitoring system
+ Standard rain-sensing wiper system
+ Standard heated washer fluid system
+ Standard Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist that can detect certain stationary objects in the rearward path of the vehicle and send a visual and audible warning
+ Standard perimeter lighting
+ Standard ABS
+ Standard Road Sensing Suspension
+ Available rearview camera system that can visually detect people or objects in the rearward path of the vehicle
+ Standard pull-up/push-down power windows

Escalade comes with the Generation 6 OnStar system (with a one-year Directions and Connections service plan). The system includes the General Motors Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) system, making crash data available to emergency services to potentially dispatch the appropriate life-saving personnel and equipment to crash scenes faster. If the vehicle is in a crash that activates an air bag, the OnStar system automatically notifies an OnStar Advisor, who will check on the occupants and summon emergency help if necessary. OnStar also can assist authorities in locating a vehicle if it is reported stolen (ability to locate stolen vehicles varies with conditions).

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