Crash tests can help you determine how well a vehicle will protect you in a crash.
Here are different organizations that perform crash tests and rate vehicles:
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crashes vehicles head-on into a wall and bashes them broadside to test
their ability to protect their occupants. NHTSA focuses on evaluating vehicle restraints
such as air bags and safety belts.
- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety performs a different test that uses offset-frontal car crashes to assess the protection
provided by a vehicle’s structure.
- Consumer Reports' auto issue rates vehicles
in terms of overall safety. Its safety score combines crash test results with a vehicle’s
accident avoidance factors, such as: emergency handling, braking, acceleration, and even driver
comfort.
To find out whether a vehicle has been recalled for safety defects, contact NHTSA.
If a vehicle has been recalled, ask the dealer for proof that the defect has been repaired.
Used vehicles should also have a current safety inspection sticker if your state
requires one.
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