Truth Behind Five Star Crash Ratings

There are so many important features to check when shopping around for any new vehicle. From the estimated MPG, to expected maintenance schedules, even down to the type of interior features the particular vehicle offers. One thing that many overlook is the crash ratings, which is a suggested rank assigned by the National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The government has made strides to adopt a New Car Assessment Program, part of which lists the crash ratings for every newly manufactured car. Pictured below is a sample version of what these crash ratings look like in a vehicle's sticker tag. Over the years, the NHTSA has developed their crash experiments to test 3 separate crash tests on any given vehicle.

1. Front-side impact- The first test the NHTSA tested, this measures the likelihood of any head and chest injuries upon impact.
2. Side impact- Within the last 20 years, this test has been among the others, and it measures the chance of a head injury in all side impact collisions.
3. Rollover- This is the newest of the three tests which tests the stability of the vehicle through a roll scenario. 

The NHTSA essentially evaluates crash scenarios based on the severity of injuries that could occur in a given crash setting. With the help from modern safety features like Anti-lock brakes, and side curtain airbags, the average ratings have gone up in the last 30 years. The more sophisticated vehicles have gotten, the stricter the government regulations in order to ensure safety throughout. So the next time its time to shop for a new car, be sure to check the crash ratings on the window sticker, and compare them to others!

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