 Federal safety investigators at the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have
completed the new model year rollover ratings and crash
test results for cars, vans, SUV’s and pickup
trucks. The annual tests are designed to determine
crash worthiness and rollover safety.
Each year Nhtsa crashes new vehicles under controlled tests in their research
facilities and grades the results with one to five stars. One star is a dismal
rating while five stars indicates top safety performance in a category.
Tested categories include: Front Driver, Front Passenger, Rear Driver Side Passenger,
Rear Passenger Side Passenger, 2 Wheel Drive Rollover Rating, and 4 Wheel Drive
Rollover Rating.
Rollovers have a higher incidence of fatalities so the rollover rating of a vehicle
can be an important guide to the vehicle’s safety capability. Federal safety
data in 2008 showed that 95% of single vehicle rollovers occur when a vehicle
leaves the road and slides sideways, digging its tires into soil or striking
an object like a curb or guardrail, causing the vehicle to flip over. Rollovers
account for about one third of all deaths that occur in crashes.
The Nhtsa results
should appear on new car window stickers but you
can read them, and the results for model years going
back to 1990, by clicking
here. |
