Congrats on the kid!
There are two components and two perspectives to safety .
Components #1: Smart technology
Airbags, sensors, backup cameras, etc are all in this category. You can't add airbags to a Jeep. I think the most you can do in this category would be a backup camera so you don't hit anyone/anything in reverse.
Components #2: Dumb technology
Sport cage, sliders, steel bumpers front and rear, even skid plates are all in this category. The basically serve to reinforce the vehicle. These do make the Jeep safer for you (generally speaking...we'll get there).
Perspective #1: Cars should be made more safe for all
In this view, we all should be driving equal-sized cars that don't build up very much momentum and have huge crush zones. But, we have freedom of choice. Which means that, while something big like a Chevy Suburban might get great safety ratings because it's so big and has side curtain airbags, etc it's a huge liability to the dude driving in his smart car. If that Suburban transfers even a little of it's kinetic energy to him and he's in big trouble.
Perspective #2: Cars should be made more safe for me
In this view, I can't account for what the other person is driving so I'm just going to worry about me and my passengers. If a Jeep with a lot of armor gets into a wreck with another SUV, the other SUV will have more damage and the people in the other SUV are more likely to experience harm. Definitely. The reason being that injuries and damage all come down to rates of acceleration/deceleration (technically it comes down to force, but mass is a constant here so it's all about the acceleration/deceleration). By adding steel components that don't crush so easily, the other car is going to decelerate more rapidly than if your Jeep crushed in a bit. As a result, the other car will suffer more damage and the occupants are more likely to be hurt. However, you are no more at fault for their additional injuries and damages than if you had chosen to drive a Chevy Suburban and hit a guy in a smart car. We all get to choose what we drive and how we outfit it (for the most part...don't mount spikes on the outside of your Jeep). The only case in which adding more dumb technology to my Jeep hurts me is if I hit another armored up Jeep or brick wall. In that case, both vehicles are stopping really quickly.
In the end, I've decided the best strategy for my and my family is steel bumpers front and rear, weld on sliders along each side, a sport cage, 37" tires, a backup camera, and Dynatrac ProGrips so I can stop sooner (that's the long term plan)..
Hope that helps.
).
