New Car Safety Ratings, Including 5 Star NHTSA Crash Test Results

New Car Safety Ratings, Including 5 Star NHTSA Crash Test Results

New Car Safety Ratings

New car buyers compare fuel economy, looks and performance when shopping for new cars. Passenger safety is another important factor that some people take for granted, not realizing that their safety can vary significantly depending on the vehicles they drive. Government agencies such as the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) run crash test programs that have been proven to save lives by documenting the safety weaknesses of some vehicles.

The NHTSA is responsible for setting and enforcing automobile safety standards, including the licensing of automobile manufacturers and car importers. Through its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), the NHTSA prevents dangerous vehicles from being sold in the US and guides the implementation of safe design in automobile manufacture. An example of this is the effort that Chinese automakers have made to upgrade their vehicles to an acceptable level of safety in order to establish a market in the US.

Crash tests duplicate the forces that are brought to bear during an actual accident and, through the use of telemetry attached to crash test dummies, high-speed cameras, and rigid control of other variables, are able to compare one vehicle to another. Unless a new vehicle achieves a passing grade in these tests, it may not be allowed on showroom floors.

NHTSA 5-Star Rollover Resistance Rating

The tendency for a vehicle to roll over in an accident is determined in part by the track width and center of gravity of the vehicle. The track width is the distance between the centers of the right and left wheels. Many rollover events occur due to other factors including evasive or panic steering causing the vehicle to skid against a raised or depressed surface, such as a curb or shallow ditch. Rollover accidents caught the public's attention during the ten years that the Ford Explorer experienced a high rate of rollovers causing over 300 fatalities, allegedly attributed to the Firestone tires on which the vehicles were mounted.

Frontal Crash Rating

Since about half of the approximately 30,000 car crash fatalities which occur each year are due to frontal crashes, the test results for safety in this scenario are viewed as the keystone of a car's safety profile. Full-width and offset 40 mpg frontal crash tests complement each other by evaluating not only the passenger restraint system, but also the structural integrity of the occupant compartment. Since the mass of the vehicle affects the degree of damage it sustains in frontal impact crashes, results of frontal crashes can only be compared to vehicles of the same weight.

Side Impact Rating

The safety cage that envelopes a vehicle's occupants must be able to withstand an impact from any direction. In recent years, the fatality rate for side impact crashes has outstripped that of frontal accidents. SUV and pickup truck height mismatches compared to passenger cars is largely the reason. IIHS statistics show that 60 percent of driver deaths occurred from side impacts in cars hit on the driver's side by SUVs and pickups. Passenger side airbags and steel-reinforced door beams have been shown to save lives in these types of accidents.

Rear Impact Rating

Head restraint geometry is the most important factor in reducing whiplash type neck injuries in rear impact crashes. For a head restraint to minimize the effects of a rear impact, it needs to be positioned no farther away from the occupant's head than 4 inches. The restrain must also be as high as the head's center of gravity.

2009 Vehicles with 5-STAR SAFETY RATINGS.

Passenger Car

2009 Acura RL - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact, Rollover - 5 Stars

2009 Mazda6 - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact, Rollover - 5 Stars.

Pickup

2009 Chevrolet Colorado - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact, Rollover - 5 Stars

2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact, Rollover - 5 Stars.

SUV

2009 Acura MDX - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact - 5 Stars, Rollover - 4 Stars

2009 Ford Flex - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact - 5 Stars, Rollover - 4 Stars.

Minivan

2009 Chrysler Town and Country - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact, Rollover - 5 Stars

2009 Mercury Grand Marquis - Frontal, Side Impact, Rear Impact, Rollover - 5 Stars.

According to 2007 legislation, the New Car Assessment Program test results are to be posted on each new vehicle's MSRP sticker, otherwise known as the Monroney Label. The "Stars for Cars" results display the 5-star safety ratings awarded by the NHTSA and are to be applied within 30 days of the recording of the results.