The National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has updated its current 5-Star Safety Rating system. Until recently, almost all vehicles received either a 4-star or 5-star safety rating which basically made the rating system ineffective. Recent upgrades and additions to the safety test have been introduced which make it much harder to receive a 4-star or 5-star rating. For example, the previous rating system would evaluate a vehicle on how safe it was for occupants during a roll-over, side-impact and frontal crashes. Now the NHTSA has implemented a pole-crash test as well, in which the side of the car is impacted by a narrow stationary object such as a pole. In addition, a new “roof strength” test during a roll-over crash as well as use of different sized dummies and more crash data collection have made the 2012 5-star Safety Rating much harder to live up to.
Some surprising examples of how cars have fared with the new 5-Star Safety rating roof-strength test are small cars such as the Smart Car Fortwo, which exhibited a surprising ability to withstand up to five times its weight. One of the worst cars tested in this category was the Chevrolet Aveo. Some examples of cars which received 5 stars for the 2012 Safety Rating are the 2013 Toyota Camry, 2013 Toyota Prius, 2013 BMW 328-I sedan and the 2013 Nissan Leaf. Cars which received poorer ratings were the 2012 Fiat 500 (only 2 stars), and the 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe (just 3 stars). It is interesting to note that the smaller sized cars can score very high or very poor, regardless of the stereotype that small cars are usually less safe.
The 5-Star Rating System can be found on the window stickers of all new 2012 vehicles as well as on the SaferCar.gov website. According to KBB.com, the following new cars have high safety ratings for 2012 and are also ideal for families; The Chrysler 300, Toyota Prius V, Honda Civic, Chevrolet Suburban, Kia Sorrento, Honda CR-V, Subaru Outback, Ford Flex, Honda Odyssey, and the Volkswagen Passat. The more stars on the new car sticker window, the safer the vehicle, and the less chance of injury. West Seegmiller, Founder of the Seegmiller Law Firm said anyone who has been in a car accident knows the importance of safety. “Sometimes we are so taken by how a car looks that we overlook poor safety ratings,” Seegmiller said. “It’s important to make the safety rating a top priority when buying a car because your life can literally depend on it.” For roughly 30 years, the legal experts at Seegmiller Law Firm have represented thousands of clients who were injured or killed in various types of accidents.
Call us at 1-855-ASK WEST (1-855-275-9378) to speak with our personal injury law firm. The Seegmiller Law Firm has offices in California including its headquarters in Irvine. We also have offices outside of Orange County to serve you in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, San Diego and in Las Vegas, Nevada
Llámenos hoy mismo al 1-855-ASK WEST (1-855-275-9378) para hablar con nuestra firma la ley de accidentes de coches. Nuestros abogados hablan español. Firma Seegmiller Ley tiene oficinas en California, incluyendo su sede en Irvine. También contamos con oficinas fuera del Condado de Orange para servirle a usted en Beverly Hills, Los Ángeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside y en Las Vegas, Nevada.
