01-11-2007, 05:03 AM
NHTSA To Toughen Vehicle Safety Rating System
January 10, 2006
DETROIT ââ¬â The U.S. Department of Transportation says it plans to toughen its crash-test ratings to give buyers simpler and more useful information when picking out a car or truck.
The move would also make it more difficult for automakers to win five-star ratings on their vehicles.
The expanded ratings will measure how well vehicles protect against upper leg injuries in front crashes. Vehicles could earn extra points if they are equipped with crash-avoidance technologies such as stability control, rear-collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning.
Side impact tests may also be conducted at a higher speed, and a "side impact pole" test may be added to mimic the effect of crashing into a tree.
All the tests will be combined into a single crash rating. Critics of the rating system have argued that buyers can't judge the true merits of vehicles since most get a four- or five-star rating out of a possible five under the current NHTSA rating system.
The NHTSA will hold a public hearing in Washington, D.C. on March 7 before issuing its final proposal on the revised crash test grading.
What this means to you: Nothing is final yet, but you may soon be armed with more realistic data about how well your vehicle will hold up in a crash.
January 10, 2006
DETROIT ââ¬â The U.S. Department of Transportation says it plans to toughen its crash-test ratings to give buyers simpler and more useful information when picking out a car or truck.
The move would also make it more difficult for automakers to win five-star ratings on their vehicles.
The expanded ratings will measure how well vehicles protect against upper leg injuries in front crashes. Vehicles could earn extra points if they are equipped with crash-avoidance technologies such as stability control, rear-collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning.
Side impact tests may also be conducted at a higher speed, and a "side impact pole" test may be added to mimic the effect of crashing into a tree.
All the tests will be combined into a single crash rating. Critics of the rating system have argued that buyers can't judge the true merits of vehicles since most get a four- or five-star rating out of a possible five under the current NHTSA rating system.
The NHTSA will hold a public hearing in Washington, D.C. on March 7 before issuing its final proposal on the revised crash test grading.
What this means to you: Nothing is final yet, but you may soon be armed with more realistic data about how well your vehicle will hold up in a crash.