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Automotive Consumer
AUTOS: Feds Toughen Tests For Safety Ratings
NHTSA plans to test 55 vehicles this year as 2011 models fall under new guidelines.
Bengt Halvorson  | http://thecarconnection.com  |  Posted July 30, 2010   Washington, DC
A new Chevrolet Cruz is prepared for the revamped side pole impact test at a federal testing facility. (Photo: The Car Connection)
For safety-conscious car shoppers, it's been more than a little daunting over the past couple of model years to tell the difference between the safest models on the market and those that are merely good.

It seems that every automaker has a five-star rating to boast about, and almost every vehicle offers the claim of "class-leading safety" in ads.

With the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety having tightened its requirements to be named a Top Safety Pick for 2010, and now the federal government introducing a new side-pole test and tougher 5-star rating system for 2011, it will be much easier to tell apart the vehicles that offer exceptionally good occupant protection from those that don't.

Because shoppers won't be able to compare scores given under the new system with those of the old one, NHTSA plans to test more vehicles this year than usual: 55 models in all.

In recent years, critics have called the federal tests useless because in some classes, nearly all of the models receive top five-star results. Very few have received three stars or less during the past several model years.

With the recalibration, NHTSA says that three-star vehicles will again provide average or close to average injury protection compared with other vehicles of the same model year.

As before, side and rollover tests will be comparable across all types of vehicles, but because the vehicle's weight is a factor in the frontal test, it can only be compared in that category between vehicles that are plus or minus 250 pounds of each other.

The new ratings will include an overall score that combines the results of frontal crash tests, side tests and rollover tests, and they will be displayed in a new format on NHTSA's SaferCar.gov information portal.

While the frontal tests have not changed significantly, a completely new side-pole test has been introduced to simulate a single-vehicle impact with a utility pole or tree, one of the deadliest types of accidents.

In addition, the agency will now summarize pertinent "advanced technology information," which includes electronic stability control, forward collision warning systems and lane departure warning systems.

"This new testing program significantly raises the safety bar for all vehicle manufacturers and will provide consumers with a great deal more safety information about the cars and trucks they want to buy," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

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