How To Check Car Safety Ratings

June 1, 2023

By: Engineer Rahela 

When shopping for a car, ensuring safety is a crucial consideration. 

Although the maximum vehicles today prioritize safety, they may not possess the same safety ratings. Hence, it is vital to check the safety rating of your car to make an up-to-date decision.

Method to Check Safety Ratings

The simplest method to access a car's safety rating is by referring to the databases of the IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

NHTSA has implemented a 5-star rating program to evaluate the crashworthiness of new cars. This entails conducting various crash tests, including rollover, side pole, side barrier, and frontal tests. 

The performance of a car in these tests determines its star rating, with 1 star indicating the lowest rating and 5 stars representing the highest rating. 

How To Check Car Safety Ratings With NHTSA

To find your vehicle's safety rating through NHTSA, you can visit their official website at nhtsa.gov and choose the "Ratings" option from the menu. 

Otherwise, you may also directly enter "nhtsa.gov/ratings" in the address bar to directly reach the ratings page. 

Once you're on ratings page, simply enter model and year of your car into search box. This will provide all the ratings for that particular car, including ratings for different trims, if applicable. 

How to Check Car Safety Ratings with IIHS

To check a car's safety rating on the IIHS website, you can visit iihs.org and click on the "ratings" option in the menu.

Once you're on the ratings page, simply enter the model and year of your car into the search box. As you start typing, a list of trims will appear, and you can choose your specific trim.

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