10 Safety Checks to Make Before You Buy

Consumer Reports offers in-depth vehicle reports for every model tested -- to help you
make the right purchasing decision on your next car or truck.
From crash tests to child seats, here's what to look for when comparing vehicle safety
There are many factors to consider when evaluating a vehicle's overall safety. They range
from how it performs in an emergency-handling situation or protects its occupants in a
collision to how easy it is to secure a child seat. When comparing vehicles, it's important to
look at all the appropriate variables, including safety-related ratings and features. Below, we
list 10 safety checks that are worth reviewing before you make your final buying decision.
When choosing a new car, consider government crash-test ratings, as well as features like
head restraints, electronic stability control, and rollover resistance.

1. Government crash-test ratings

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducts two types of crash
tests: full frontal and side impact. Each is scored on a five-star scale, with fewer stars
indicating a greater likelihood of serious injury. You can check the scores for all crash-tested
vehicles online at www.safercars.gov.
NHTSA's frontal test is a good indication of how well a vehicle's safety belts and air bags
protect the occupants in specific types of impacts. The frontal test runs vehicles into a rigid
barrier at 35 mph. That simulates a head-on collision between two vehicles of similar
weight, each traveling at 35 mph. Instrumented crash dummies in the two front seats
record the crash forces they sustain and scores are assigned for the driver and front
passenger.
NHTSA's side-impact test simulates a vehicle traveling at 17 mph being hit on the side by a
3,000-pound car traveling at 34 mph. Scores are assigned to the driver and the left-rear
passenger.
2. Insurance-industry crash-test ratings
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a safety-research group that conducts
its own series of crash tests. In its frontal-offset crash, a vehicle is run at 40 mph into a
deformable barrier. Instead of engaging the whole width of the car's front end, the barrier
covers just the 40 percent of the car directly in front of the driver.
Using a deformable barrier simulates a car-to-car, driver's-side-to-driver's-side collision,
which is a common form of fatal crash. By focusing the crash on only a portion of the car's
front, this test severely stresses the car's structural integrity and its ability to protect the
area around the driver without collapsing.
The IIHS scores its frontal-crash results as Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Poor. You can find
ratings for all tested vehicles at the IIHS Web site, www.hwysafety.org.
Recently, the IIHS has also begun conducting its own side-impact tests, which simulate
being hit by a truck instead of NHTSA's 3,000-pound car. However, many vehicles have not
yet been tested.
Both the IIHS and NHTSA crash-test results are comparable only to vehicles within the same
weight class as the tested car. If vehicle weights are very dissimilar, the results could be
very different.

3. Accident avoidance
A vehicle's ability to help you avoid an accident is just as important as its crashworthiness.
Key factors to consider are braking and emergency handling, although acceleration,
visibility, driving position, and even seat comfort (which affects driver fatigue) also play a
role.
4. Air bags
By law, every new passenger vehicle comes equipped with dual front air bags. But the
sophistication of the systems can vary. It's worth checking what type of air-bag systems a
vehicle has, both in the front and rear.
Many upscale vehicles now have some version of a "smart" air-bag system. It uses
electronic sensors to gauge several variables, which, depending on the model, include crash
severity, safety-belt use, the position of the driver's seat, and the weight and/or position of
an occupant in the front-passenger seat. This information is used to tailor the deployment of
the vehicle's front and side air bags.
Dual-threshold and multi-stage front bags can deploy with varying force, depending on
crash severity. In a lower-level collision the bags inflate with limited force. In a more severe
crash, the bags inflate with more force and more quickly. Many systems withhold
deployment on the passenger side if the seat is unoccupied (to save money on replacement)
or if the seat is occupied by a person below a certain weight (to prevent possible injury from
the bag).
Side air bags are now common for front occupants. The basic side air bag deploys from the
seatback or door, and is designed to protect a person's torso. Separate side bags that
protect the head are becoming increasingly available, as well. The most common design is a
side-curtain bag that drops down from the headliner and covers both the front and rear
windows. Consumer Reports highly recommends head-protection side air bags where
they're available.
Side torso air bags are also included in the rear seats of some models, but these can pose a
risk for smaller children sitting out of position in the outboard seat positions. In some
models, rear side bags need to be activated by the dealer.
5. Antilock brake system (ABS)
CR's auto experts highly recommend getting an antilock brake system (ABS), which is
available as standard or optional equipment on most vehicles. ABS prevents the wheels
from locking up during a hard stop, something that can cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle. ABS almost always provides shorter stops, but, even more importantly, the
system helps keep the vehicle straight and allows the driver to maneuver during a panic
stop.
6. Rollover resistance
Taller vehicles, such as SUVs and pickups, are more likely to roll over than passenger cars.
According to NHTSA, SUVs have a rollover rate that is two to three times that of passenger
cars. In 2002, 61 percent of all SUV fatalities and 45 percent of pickup-truck deaths were
the result of a rollover. By contrast, only 22 percent of passenger-car fatalities were because
of a rollover.
A taller vehicle has a higher center of gravity, which makes it more top-heavy than one that
sits lower to the ground. In a situation where a vehicle is subjected to strong sideways
forces, such as in a sudden cornering maneuver, it's easier for a taller vehicle to roll over.

To give consumers a way of telling which vehicles have a higher rollover propensity than
others, NHTSA has developed a five-star rating system called the Rollover Resistance Rating
(RRR). Until recently, the RRR was based solely on a vehicle's "static stability factor (SSF),"
which is determined from measurements of its track width and center of gravity. Because
the SSF is based on measurements of a stationary vehicle rather than on a dynamic road
test, the rating doesn't account for vehicles' different suspension designs, tires, or the
presence of a stability-control systemany of which can make a significant difference.
Beginning with the ratings for 2004 models, NHTSA now combines the SSF with a dynamic
rollover test performed with moving vehicles.
The RRR is accessible online at www.safercars.gov, but you need to dig deeper than the star
ratings to tell how a vehicle performed in the dynamic test. Click on the model name. Scroll
down to "Rollover Details" and look under Dynamic Test. The site tells you only whether or
not a vehicle tipped up in the test, but not at what speed. Currently, it also lacks data about
whether rated vehicles were tested with electronic stability control, described below. We
believe that vehicles that tip up in NHTSA's test have a potential stability problem and CR
will not recommend them, regardless of their star rating.
7. Electronic stability control (ESC)
Electronic stability control is another safety feature that's highly recommended by CR's auto
experts, particularly on SUVs. ESC is designed to help keep the vehicle under control and on
its intended path during cornering, and prevent it from sliding or skidding. If a vehicle
begins to go out of control, the system selectively applies brakes to one or more wheels and
cuts engine power to keep the vehicle on its intended course. On SUVs, stability control can
help prevent the vehicle from getting into a situation that could lead to a rollover. While
electronic stability control has improved the emergency handling on the vehicles we have
tested, it's not a cure-all for inherently poor handling vehicles. Its effectiveness depends on
how it is programmed and how it is integrated with the vehicle. It also cannot overcome the
laws of physics for out-of-control driving.
Automakers often refer to their stability-control systems by different names, so if it's not
clear be sure to ask if a vehicle has electronic stability control. To make it less confusing for
the consumer, the Society of Automotive Engineers has asked that all manufacturers use
electronic stability control or ESC, as common terminology when referring to their stabilitycontrol systems. Consumer Reports supports this announcement, and feels it will help
consumers know what they are buying.
A number of studies have been completed and all point to a substantial reduction in
accidents and deaths. CR engineers feel that ESC is going to be a major safety feature that
may become standard on all cars.
8. Safety-belt features
Three-point lap-and-shoulder belts provide the most protection in a crash, and more
vehicles now have them in all seating positions. Many, however, still have only a lap belt in
the center-rear position, which allows the upper part of the body to move forward in a crash
or panic stop. The comfort of the belts is also important, because some people won't wear
them if they're uncomfortable. Some vehicles, for instance, have front belts whose shoulder
portion retracts into the seatback instead of the car's door pillar. Their advantage is they
move with the seat when the seat is adjusted fore and aft. But they can tug down
uncomfortably on the shoulder of someone with a long torso.
Many vehicles include safety-belt pretensioners and force limiters, which work with the air
bags to protect you in a crash. Pretensioners automatically take up the slack in the seat belt
during a frontal crash, helping to restrain people securely and properly position them for the
air bag. Force-limiters relax the safety-belt tension slightly following the initial impact, so

they can help absorb some of a person's forward thrust. That helps prevent chest and
internal injuries caused by the belt.
9. Head restraints
A car's head restraints are vital for guarding against the whiplash neck injuries that often
accompany a rear-end collision. Restraints need to be tall enough to cushion the head above
the top of the spine. Many cars' head restraints adjust for height. Look for those that lock in
the raised position. Those that do not can be forced down in a crash, losing effectiveness.
Many cars' rear restraints are too low to do much good, which Consumer Reports notes in
their test reports. The IIHS Web site (www.hwysafety.org) also provides the institute's own
head restraint ratings for various models.
10. Child safety
Child-safety seats save lives and should be used until a child is big enough to use the
vehicle's regular safety belt. The conventional method of attaching a child seat uses the
vehicle's safety belts. Often, incompatibilities between the car's seat and the child seat
make a good, tight fit difficult and sometimes impossible.
All new vehicles now have a universal system called LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) that is designed to make attachment easier and more secure. But the system
doesn't work equally well in all vehicles. Consumer Reports has found many cars with the
new attachment points sufficiently obscured that even with some of the newest child seats
it's not easy to use them. CR comments on the ease of installing child seats in its test
reports. But the key is to try before you buy.
Another child-safety consideration is power-window switches. Children have accidentally
activated a power window while leaning out and have been killed or injured by the window
closing on them. The easiest types to inadvertently trigger are horizontal rocker and toggle
switches on the door's armrest, which raise the window when pushed down or to the side.
Lever-type switches, which are flush with the surrounding trim and only raise the window
when pulled up, are a safer design.
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