How to Check a Vehicle's Safety

Before you go to the dealership and fall in love with a new model car, you should know the safety rating of the car. After all, no one plans to be in an accident, but if you are, you want the car you're in to protect you as much as possible. So whether you are in the market for a new car, or just want to check the safety rating on your existing car, the websites below will tell you exactly how to check a vehicle's safety.

Instructions

How to Check a Vehicle's Safety

1

Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Not only will it provide valuable pricing information about the new car you're thinking of purchasing, but Kelly Blue Book also provides the safety ratings for the vehicle and a five-star rating system for each safety component of the car.

2

Edmunds.com (www.Edmunds.com)
This site provides you with literally everything you need to know about the car, including new car buying information, safety information, recalls and forums where people can review the cars they own. Edmunds provides you with not only the statistical safety ratings, but also the "real life" experiences of owners.

3

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.nhtsa.com)
This organization is the main rating agency for vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides a five-star rating system for most late model vehicles in the United States. Anytime that you see car's ratings listed anywhere, odds are good that they came from this agency.

4

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.IIHS.com)
This organization does much of the same work as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration except that The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates cars specifically for the insurance industry. You definitely need to visit this site, because the ratings here are what will affect the insurance premiums on a new car.

5

CrashTest.com (www.crashtest.com)
The Crash Test site compiles safety ratings and information from around the world, which means that not only will you see safety ratings from the United States, but you can see how the same car rates in Europe and Australia.