If you are shopping for a new car, maybe you're leaning towards a small fuel-efficient car to help you save money on your auto insurance and help save the environment. As with any new vehicle purchase, one of the most important questions you have to ask is about the safety of you new car. Particularly when purchasing a smaller car, you need to know if you are putting yourself at risk in the event of an accident.
Smaller, lighter weight cars are generally less safe that larger, heavier cars. The keys to a car's ability to keep you safe during a crash involves safety equipment, the vehicle's weight and its resistance to rollover. While small cars don't roll over easily, they lack weight and are less likely to have advanced safety features like stability control or full side curtain airbags. A less safe car means a more expensive insurance rate.
How to find out how much it will cost to insure your small car
When researching the safety of your small car the first place you should look is the government agency responsible for conducting crash and safety tests on cars; The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA. The NHTSA uses a 5-star ranking program that rates the safety of cars from 1-star (not safe) to 5-stars (super safe) by doing a variety of tests on cars that show them what happens to the car when it is in an accident. Crash tests impact your insurance rate because it tells your insurance company how often you might be in an accident and what it will cost them when it happens.
There are three main tests the NHTSA conducts; front-end collision, rollover resistance, and a side crash with a moving target. A star rating is applied to the car based upon how it performs in each of these crash tests. Using this rating you can determine how safe your car will be in the event of a common crash.
Next, check out Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS, collects data on various car collisions in the United States and reports back to Insurance companies about the potential risks of different types of vehicles. This institute also conducts their own safety tests, but unlike the NHTSA, these tests determine how a car will hold up in an accident with another vehicle (NHTSA's tests are done with a large blunt surface, usually a wall). All of the information gathered by the IIHS can help drivers determine whether a smaller car is statistically safer on the road filled with SUV sized cars.
Finally, when wrapping up your car safety research, find out what the manufacturer has to say about the safety of your car. Safety isn't just determined only by how well a car performs in a crash test; it is also based on the safety equipment provided by the manufacturer to make the car safer as soon as it pulls off the lot. As their demand in the market has risen, Car manufacturers have been adding safety features to small cars. These types of safety features can be used as a major determining factor for car safety because it reduces the likelihood of a car being involved in an accident while on the road.
Regardless of what you drive, though, all experts agree that how you drive is the most important safety factor and the most important factor in determining your insurance rates. On Texas highways, crowded with big trucks and SUV's, a small car can seem like a dangerous alternative and indeed sometimes it is. If you are in the market for a new car and are looking to save money by purchasing a smaller more fuel-efficient car, make sure you do your research and find the safest model possible.
Smaller, lighter weight cars are generally less safe that larger, heavier cars. The keys to a car's ability to keep you safe during a crash involves safety equipment, the vehicle's weight and its resistance to rollover. While small cars don't roll over easily, they lack weight and are less likely to have advanced safety features like stability control or full side curtain airbags. A less safe car means a more expensive insurance rate.
How to find out how much it will cost to insure your small car
When researching the safety of your small car the first place you should look is the government agency responsible for conducting crash and safety tests on cars; The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA. The NHTSA uses a 5-star ranking program that rates the safety of cars from 1-star (not safe) to 5-stars (super safe) by doing a variety of tests on cars that show them what happens to the car when it is in an accident. Crash tests impact your insurance rate because it tells your insurance company how often you might be in an accident and what it will cost them when it happens.
There are three main tests the NHTSA conducts; front-end collision, rollover resistance, and a side crash with a moving target. A star rating is applied to the car based upon how it performs in each of these crash tests. Using this rating you can determine how safe your car will be in the event of a common crash.
Next, check out Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS, collects data on various car collisions in the United States and reports back to Insurance companies about the potential risks of different types of vehicles. This institute also conducts their own safety tests, but unlike the NHTSA, these tests determine how a car will hold up in an accident with another vehicle (NHTSA's tests are done with a large blunt surface, usually a wall). All of the information gathered by the IIHS can help drivers determine whether a smaller car is statistically safer on the road filled with SUV sized cars.
Finally, when wrapping up your car safety research, find out what the manufacturer has to say about the safety of your car. Safety isn't just determined only by how well a car performs in a crash test; it is also based on the safety equipment provided by the manufacturer to make the car safer as soon as it pulls off the lot. As their demand in the market has risen, Car manufacturers have been adding safety features to small cars. These types of safety features can be used as a major determining factor for car safety because it reduces the likelihood of a car being involved in an accident while on the road.
Regardless of what you drive, though, all experts agree that how you drive is the most important safety factor and the most important factor in determining your insurance rates. On Texas highways, crowded with big trucks and SUV's, a small car can seem like a dangerous alternative and indeed sometimes it is. If you are in the market for a new car and are looking to save money by purchasing a smaller more fuel-efficient car, make sure you do your research and find the safest model possible.
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