Residents of the Twin Cities or the western parts of Wisconsin may be interested in learning if cars with a high safety rating protect you more. Understanding the ratings will make it easier when it comes to buying your next car as well as driving on the road every day.
There are two organizations that rate cars for safety. They are the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is an industry group. The two usually agree with each other.
Five-star rating means a car is safer
Does this mean that you will never get injured if you are in a motor vehicle accident? No, but the NHTSA says that a five-star rating means that the injury risk is lower than average.
The IIHS uses another system
This group brands cars for safety as Good, which still has a chance for injury; Acceptable; Marginal, and Poor. These ratings are based on the results of crash tests.
Different approaches to rating
While the NHTSA rates cover the full width of the vehicle, the IIHS runs offset frontal tests. This results in only one side of a car’s front end hitting the barrier, in the tests from IIHS.
If safety is a concern, look at both lists
Both keep a list of their top picks for safety. When looking for a car, it would be smart to consult both of these lists before deciding on the best choice for safety. You can also find the top safety picks. Both have begun sharing videos on YouTube, so you can watch how a motor vehicle accident might affect the auto as well as passengers.