Feature: Searching for safety – what are the safest vehicles on the road?

Like the IIHS, the NHTSA doesn’t test every vehicle on the road, choosing instead to test vehicles that are expected to have a high sales volume. There are significant differences in the way the NHTSA conducts its tests, though.

For instance, the NHTSA tests for a full-width frontal collision into a rigid, concrete barrier, as opposed to the IIHS offset (partial) frontal collision in which the vehicle is driven into a deformable barrier.

From the consumer’s point of view, both frontal tests are useful: the NHTSA full-width frontal collision is especially demanding of occupant restraint systems as they would react in a full, head-on collision, while the IIHS front offset barrier collision focuses more on the structure of the vehicle, and its ability to withstand intrusion into the occupant compartment.

As with the IIHS frontal collision results, NHTSA frontal collision test cannot be compared across vehicle classes (different vehicle weights; different kinetic energy). However, driving into a fixed (concrete) barrier as opposed to a deformable barrier simulates a very severe crash, like driving straight into a wall. (Some sources suggest that results from the NHTSA full frontal crash test into a solid barrier is no longer as useful an indicator to consumers because of the role of airbags in the test.)

IIHS Roof strength testing machine (crushes to four-times vehicle weight). Click image to enlarge

The NHTSA side crash ratings represent an “intersection-type collision,” with a 3,015-pound (1,370 kg) barrier moving at 38.5 mph (62 km/h) at a 27-degree angle (not straight into the side of the vehicle, as with the IIHS test). The NHTSA places crash-test dummies representing an average sized adult in the driver and rear-passenger (driver’s side) seats, and measures the force of impact to each dummy’s head, neck, chest, and pelvis (head injuries are recorded, but not currently included in the star rating). Achieving the five-star rating represents a “five per cent or less” chance of serious injury.

International agencies also conduct crash tests (along with car manufacturers themselves), some of which are influencing safety standards in North America. The European NCAP program, for example (www.euroncap.com) has a “pole test,” where a vehicle is propelled sideways into a rigid pole. This simulates a crash into a tree, a streetlight or a telephone pole, where major penetration into the side of a car can occur. The NHTSA is implementing pole tests in 2011, along with revisions to its side impact test using test dummies, and is implementing an overall summary rating (presumably similar to the IIHS Top Safety Pick) and a program to promote advanced crash avoidance technologies.

The European program also includes pedestrian protection tests, and these standards as well are being adopted by the North American industry in order to comply with European requirements. Other countries that conduct comprehensive, comparative crash tests are Japan (www.nasva.go.jp, in Japanese) and Australia (www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au).

Roof strength demonstration test (simulates rollover): 15,000 pound (6,818 kg) force on Volkswagen Tiguan (top) and Kia Sportage (bottom). Click image to enlarge

Each of the organizations that conduct crash tests provides a vast array of standardized information that is of great value to consumers (the North American sites, of course, focus on vehicles in our market). Along with crash test results, additional safety related material is available on their respective web sites, including safety recalls, tire information, child passenger safety and airbag safety. Using this information, consumers can identify which vehicles in their market (type, make and model) are “safer” in terms of resistance to collision between vehicles and roadside obstacles, and which vehicles give pedestrians a fighting chance in the event they are struck by a car.

It would be gratifying to point out the excellence of Canada’s online efforts regarding the dissemination of vehicle safety information, but unfortunately Transport Canada’s site is not consumer-friendly, containing a hodge-podge of sections focusing on road safety, vehicle importation, recalls and school buses.

On the site, there are no comparative vehicle data available, and there are no links to testing agencies like the IIHS or NHTSA where such data can be found. Although Transport Canada conducts approximately 100 crash tests per year, the tests are for research purposes (to provide a scientific basis for new regulations) and of limited application for consumers trying to evaluate a particular vehicle for purchase.

Canada does set its own safety standards for vehicles, however, (Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) as identified in the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA) to which all new vehicles sold here must conform. Compliance to these standards is effected by monitoring the self-certification programs of manufacturers, and via selective testing. This is not to say that Canadian vehicles are any less safe than U.S. vehicles, but because Canada doesn’t have its own comparative data, we can’t place the results on a new vehicle’s Monroney sticker (vehicle purchase sticker), as they do in the United States.

However, using the abundant results available online from the IIHS, NHTSA and other testing organizations, consumers can determine which vehicles performed well in standardized collision simulations. If you are looking for a vehicle that performs well across all the safety tests, the next step would be to make a short list of top performers, with a view to answering the question that formed the basis of this article: “What are the safest cars (vehicles) on the road?”

But there is one key factor not addressed by any of the crash-testing organizations, and that is the driver behind the wheel. The point is, there’s always somebody driving a bigger, heavier vehicle than you, and Five Star Rating or not, you’re way better off if you can avoid a collision in the first place. To that end, we would encourage all drivers to sign up for professional instruction on emergency vehicle manoeuvres and vehicle control. Many drivers have no idea what will happen if they slam on the brakes on a wet surface, or attempt an emergency lane change at speed. A one-day course by a certified organization is surely money and time well spent. What have you got to lose?

You know the answer.

Related posts:

1. 2009 Acura TSX named a Top Safety Pick by IIHS
2. 2009 Audi A4 earns five-star safety rating
3. GM crossovers earn IIHS Top Safety Pick
4. Audi Q7 earns “Top Safety Pick”
5. Acura achieves top safety ratings for all models