Before You Buy, Spend Some Time Researching Vehicle’s Safety Ratings
Earlier this month, the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show provided an arena for Phase 1 of car buying--the fantasy stage, when potential buyers decide which model best shows the world who they are or hope to be.
Next comes that back-to-reality phase, during which the questions get tougher: Can you really afford those monthly payments? Is the resale value good? And, even more important, how can you be sure the model you’re eyeing is safe, so you’ll be around to make those payments?
Driving a safe vehicle may have dividends in ways besides sparing life and limb. The safer the vehicle, the higher the resale value may be, as more and more consumers become safety-conscious. And many insurance carriers reduce premiums for vehicles equipped with air bags and other safety features.
Safety is becoming a selling point, especially for buyers with families. Ford Motor Co., for instance, is promoting its 1999 Windstar minivan as safe and family-friendly after it received a five-star rating (the best possible) in frontal and side-impact crash tests conducted by the government.
So how best to evaluate car safety?
Reviewing results of crash tests is a good first step.
Crash tests have been conducted by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the last 21 years. And the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an insurance industry organization based in Arlington, Va., introduced its own crash test program in 1994, although it conducted limited testing before that.
NHTSA crash-tests about 35 new models a year; the IIHS tests about 40. (Consumers Union, another trusted name with many buyers, doesn’t do crash tests, per se, but performs “bumper bashing,” tests that simulate a crash at 3 to 5 mph to evaluate damage, a spokesman says.)
Test results are available via the NHTSA and IIHS World Wide Web sites or by mail or telephone requests. In addition, Consumers Union publishes test results from both organizations every April in the new-car issue of its magazine, Consumer Reports.
NHTSA and the IIHS evaluate and crash vehicles differently, and it’s important that consumers understand the details of these tests.
As part of its New Car Assessment Program, NHTSA conducts frontal crashes with the vehicle traveling at 35 mph as it hits a rigid barrier. It also conducts side crashes in which a 3,000-pound sled crashes into a car. These side crashes were phased into the program for model year 1997 passenger cars and model year 1999 light trucks (pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles). The test results give information on the potential for head, chest and leg injuries. Vehicles are rated from one star to five, five being best.
The IIHS conducts frontal offset crashes. With the vehicle going 40 mph, part of the front end hits a barrier that simulates the front of another vehicle. These tests provide an idea of how the car or truck would hold up structurally in a serious crash. Vehicles are rated “good,” “acceptable,” “marginal” or “poor.” The IIHS test is considered an especially good evaluation of how well the safety cage and “crush” zones of a vehicle can deflect crash forces away from the occupants.
Not every model gets crash-tested. “We crash-test the largest sellers,” says Julie Rochman, a spokeswoman for the insurance institute.
NHTSA carries over test results on models with no basic changes to the next year, so it maintains test results for about 80% of all new cars sold.
Who pays for all these crashes? The insurance institute pays for them out of a $1-million annual budget that also must fund research, Rochman says.
“We buy from dealers’ lots, and we buy from brokers,” she says, “so manufacturers have no way of knowing the vehicles are being bought for crash tests.”
Expenses for NHTSA tests likewise come from its annual budget, with one exception, says Tim Hurd, an agency spokesman: A manufacturer whose car is not scheduled to be crash-tested may request and pay for an optional test. This sometimes happens, for instance, if a manufacturer has re-engineered a model and is eager to see crash-test results.
Vehicles that do well on the NHTSA test usually get high marks from the IIHS. And vice versa. But not always.
Two years ago, searching for a safe, affordable car for my son, then a new teenage driver, I studied NHTSA test results and found that the 1996 Dodge Neon, one of the cars on our list, had been rated at four stars. Assured that it was a reasonably safe model, we bought it--and then I discovered that the IIHS results had given it a poor overall rating.
Ideally, consumers looking for a safe car or truck should look for one that earns high ratings from both NHTSA and the IIHS, says Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.
But if that’s not the case with their vehicle of choice, he suggests that buyers understand the emphasis of each type of test.
“The NHTSA tests are a better indicator of head and upper-chest injury risk,” he says. And those types of injuries are more likely to be fatal.
The IIHS tests also evaluate risk to the head and chest but focus on lower-extremity injuries, Ditlow says. One measurement, for instance, evaluates whether the vehicle’s foot-well compartment remains intact during the crash or crushes in on the occupants, perhaps breaking a leg or causing other lower-limb injuries. Such injuries, though often far from minor, are less likely to be fatal.
“That’s not to say a crash in a car that does horribly on the insurance institute tests can’t kill you,” Ditlow says.
And crash-test results, of course, aren’t the only barometer of safety.
Look too for a variety of other safety features, experts advise. Among those recommended by Consumers Union and NHTSA are air bags, anti-lock brakes and traction-control systems (which improve stability by automatically adjusting the engine power output and sometimes applying braking force to selected wheels during cornering and acceleration).
When shopping for a safe vehicle, consider the driver, Ditlow says. He would never choose an SUV for a young or inexperienced driver, for example, because of the “rollover” factor. Drivers who are shorter or smaller than average should be sure the model fits them well and that they can reach the pedals and other controls comfortably. And a car with good visibility is by nature a safer car.
Good Carma is a guide to automotive-related health and consumer issues. Highway 1 contributor Kathleen Doheny can be reached vie e-mail at kdoheny@compuserve.com.
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RESOURCES
New Car Safety
* NHTSA crash-test results are available through the Department of Transportation’s auto safety hotline, (800) 424-9393 or (888) DASH-2-DOT. By mail: NHTSA, Attention: Hotline, 400 7th St. S.W., Washington, DC 20590. On the Web: https://www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
* IIHS crash-test results are available by telephone at (703) 247-1500 or by mail: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22201. On the Web: https://www.hwysafety.org.
* A Department of Transportation consumer guide, “New Car Safety Features--Valuable Information to Help You Buy a Safer Car,” is available on the NHTSA Web page or via the agency’s toll-free safety hotline, (888) 327-4236. The hotline also offers information on recalls and other safety issues and fields safety complaints.
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Used-Car Safety
* The Center for Auto Safety in Washington maintains information on the crash-worthiness of older, used vehicles. For a consumer information packet, send a self-addressed, stamped No. 10 business envelope, noting the model and year for which you seek information, to the center, 2001 S St. N.W., Washington, DC 20009. Information on the specific vehicle, plus information about common defects a used vehicle may have, will be sent by mail. (For newer used vehicles, check the NHTSA and IIHS sites to see if the crash-test results are still posted.)
