Just like you, the members of our Genesis of Annapolis team think vehicle safety features are a big deal. That's why we pay close attention to vehicle safety ratings. For your edification, we explain common vehicle safety ratings in a nutshell.
More Stars, Safer Cars
A government agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), issues starred ratings of one to five stars. The ratings reflect how crashworthy a vehicle proves itself during 90 to 125+ different types of tests. The tests incorporate all kinds of in-vehicle evaluation of damage to vehicles and test dummies subjected to five main types of crash tests:
- Static stability
- Rollover resistance
- Side barrier
- Side pole
- Frontal crash
The Makings of a Top Safety Pick
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is the private non-profit that rates vehicles as Top Safety Picks. There are five corresponding ratings: Poor, Marginal, Acceptable, Good and Good+. Only vehicles scoring Good or Good+ on all crash scenario tests enjoy the honorable designation of Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+.
The IIHS applies its Poor to Good+ ratings according to vehicle performance on a range of six crashworthiness tests:
- Moderate-overlap front
- Driver's-side small-overlap front
- Head-restraint crash
- Roof-strength
- Side strength
- Passenger-side small-overlap test
