DOT launches new vehicle safety ratings system

DOT launches new vehicle safety ratings system

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) outlined the government's new 5-Star Safety Rating System this week that will make it more difficult for new cars and trucks to earn top scores.

Only two of the first 34 vehicles tested under the new program – the 2011 BMW 5 Series and a version of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata – received the top grade of five stars. The Toyota Camry, the best-selling passenger car in the United States, received three stars.

The system to rate vehicles on front-end and side-impact crashes and rollovers, was started in 1979. Typically, more than 90 percent of the vehicles tested under the system earned four or five stars. In 1979, less than 30 percent received four or five stars.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the new rating system will encourage automakers to install crash avoidance technologies and will help car shoppers “navigate a crowded marketplace with trustworthy and objective safety analysis.”

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said the changes will mean the ratings found on new car labels will probably go down, even in cases where there have been no significant changes to the vehicle.

Mike Stanton, president of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, which represents Toyota, Honda, Nissan and others, said car makers had been concerned about confusion over the new grading system. But he expected consumers to embrace the changes.

“Everybody knows that vehicles are very, very safe today so it's a degree of how safe and what are the new technologies, Stanton said. Hopefully this will take hold as people pay attention, he said.

The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) said, it supports the federal governments efforts to enhance safety information to allow for more informed purchasing decisions by vehicle shoppers,” but noted that consumers should remember the following:

1. New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) scores for model year (MY) 2011 may be lower than for previous models of the same vehicles, but that does not mean they are less safe.

2. NCAP scores for MY 2011 and later vehicles should not be compared to those for previous model years.

3. Overall Ratings Scores reflect a weighted average of the three crash test results. All new vehicles are subject to rigorous Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

4. The NCAP label will not be updated until MY 2012. The best source of NCAP information is www.safercar.gov.

5. Only 50 or so models are NCAP tested in a given model year. Test results are made public as they become available.