Saturday September 16, 2006

I suspect many business travelers are fairly well-heeled with a nice car or two in the driveway at home. Maybe a BMW, a Volvo, an Audi, etc. You probably have the latest safety features like ABS brakes, traction control, dynamic stability control, side-curtain airbags, etc.

Have you ever thought about the cars you rent when traveling on business? In particular, how rental cars may differ from what you are used to driving at home?

Maximum braking with ABS is fine--the computer will ensure you don't lose traction as best it can. With dynamic stability control (found on some BMWs) you can steer through a turn at speed under maximum braking and not lose control. But don't try such manoevers in a rental car. Rental cars don't generally have these advanced safety features and therefore need to be handled very differently under extreme circumstances.

Think about it. Do you really know how to drive the cars you rent?