A Guide to Car Safety Ratings

Car safety ratings are the aggregate safety score given by two U.S. organizations: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These groups test a vehicle based on specific safety criteria, the safer the car will be.

Each organization has their own separate criteria on which a vehicle is assessed and different ranking systems. For the NHTSA, vehicles are given a score out of five stars in four categories based on four separate tests. For the IIHS, six separate tests are administered to determine a vehicle's crashworthiness (how well it protects occupants during a crash) and crash avoidance/mitigation (how well the vehicle prevents crashes). Vehicle's assessed by the IIHS receive one of four ratings ( poor, marginal, acceptable, or good) in each category.

NHTSA Car Crash Tests and Criteria

• Rollover: The rollover test is the only NHTSA trial that doesn't feature a real-life examination of a vehicle's capabilities. A mathematical formula called the Static Stability Factor is used to determine how top heavy a vehicle is; this is done by measuring the width of the car and comparing that to its center of gravity.
• Frontal Crash Test: For this test, crash test dummies will be loaded into the vehicle and driven into a barrier at 35 mph. This is meant to simulate a head-on collision between two vehicles of similar weight. After the simulated crash, each dummy is assessed for potential injuries to their limbs and major organs.
• Side Barrier: In the side barrier test, the vehicle will act as the barrier as an object weighing 3015 pounds is slammed into each of the car's sides at a rate of 38.5 mph. This is meant to simulate a perpendicular collision, sometimes called "getting t-boned". After the crash, each dummy will be examined for potential injuries.
• Side Pole: For the side pole test, the vehicle will be pulled at 20mph, while at a 75 degree angle, towards a pole. After the collision, crash test dummies will be examined to determine whether they would have suffered any injuries.

IIHS Car Crash Tests and Criteria

• Roof Strength: Using a metal plate, the vehicle's roof will be crushed approximately four inches to evaluate its strength-to-weight ratio. To get the best rating, "good", the roof must be able to withstand a force four times greater than the vehicle's weight.
• Side: For the side test, an object weighing approximately as much as a large SUV (∼3,300 pounds) crashed into the side of the vehicle at around 30 mph. The vehicle's side rating is based on the severity of damage this simulation causes.
• Driver Side Small Overlap Front: In the driver side test a vehicle will accelerate to 40 mph and strike a barrier on its left front side, also known as the driver's side. 25% of the frontal width is involved in this test.
• Passenger Side Small Overlap Front: This test is conducted in the same manner as the driver side small overlap front, but on the front left (or passenger) side.
• Moderate Overlap Front: For the moderate overlap front test, 40% of the vehicle will strike the barrier on the driver's side at 40 mph. This test is also known as the "frontal offset test".
• Head Restraints and Seats: This test is designed to measure how well a vehicle's head restraints and seats support the driver's head and neck during a crash.

Vehicle safety ratings can be checked online by following three simple steps.

Gather Vehicle Information

Before searching for car safety ratings, you'll want to make sure you have your vehicle's make, model, and year information handy. This can be found by looking on a car window sticker, car title, or paperwork provided by your dealership.

Select Your Ratings Agency

Once you have your info, select which organization's ratings you want to see. The best option here is to look at both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety websites.

Select Your Vehicle

On each website, enter your make, model, and year information and find your vehicle. On the NHTSA website you'll be shown each test in detail, a description of how your car performed, and what rating it received. You'll enter the same information on the IIHS website, but unlike the NHTSA site some vehicle models may be missing. You'll also get to see whether the IIHS has selected your car as its "Top Safety Pick", an award it gives to vehicle's with particularly crash test ratings.

A vehicle's safety ratings aren't the only thing that determines how safe a vehicle will be; looking at a car's history can give you essential information about its current condition and whether a dealer is being honest about how safe the car may be. The best way to get all the important facts and figures about a car is to get a vehicle history report.

Vehicle history report services comb through thousands of databases to retrieve essential information about your new or used vehicle. You can get a variety of details from these reports, including:

• A car's accident history
• List of repairs
• Manufacturing origin
• Whether the vehicle has been stolen or used in a crime

By learning everything you can about a vehicle beforehand, you can make sure that a car is both safe and offered at a fair price. Getting a vehicle history report can prevent you from being overcharged, or even worse, scammed by unscrupulous car dealers.