The accelerator problem that recently prompted Toyota’s recall of 2.3 million vehicles has shifted America’s concentration on automobile safety into overdrive.

Examining research conducted by the Institute for Highway Safety and Consumer Reports, in addition to interviews with auto safety experts, ABCNews.com compiled a list of the safest car choices for drivers of all levels in February.

When you consider escalating the probability of surviving a head-on collision – the most widespread sort of lethal traffic accident – is a vehicle consumer’s supreme point of interest, basic laws of physics rule over elaborate safety features. Size matters, in other words.

The solitary most significant factor in a vehicle’s collision survivability is its size. Pickup trucks and SUVs are naturally heavy but, at the same time, it takes them longer and more distance to come to a standstill and are much more vulnerable to turning over, which is another principal category of traffic fatality.

Most experts concur that Volvo races to mind when it comes to sparing no expense, focusing on sedans and taking into consideration its storied history as a leader in safety advancements. ABCNews.com ranked the Volvo S80 among the four safest “large” automobiles that were collision-tested by the Insurance Institute.

Kelley Blue Book Executive Editorial Director Jack Nerad, who has been writing about auto safety for more than 10 years, mentioned that as his younger offspring move toward driving age he has been thinking about this important issue much more thought recently. He has an inclination toward Volvo.

Volvo has always been on the cutting edge when it comes to auto safety. It’s a huge part of the company’s background.

Bearing in mind design strength and size, in addition to covering each of the superior technological features Volvo owners have come to anticipate like involuntary driver alerts that help to alleviate everything from blind spots to lane glide, the Volvo S80 must be considered a standard bearer in the drive toward the safest car ever assembled.