Your Car
Selecting a Safe Car
How can you tell how safe a car really is? Both the federal government and private organizations review various aspects of car safety and conduct various crash tests. Not every model is tested every year; however, you can get this valuable information for free online and updated annually.
On the federal Department of Transportation web site (www.safercar.gov)— you can find safety tips and vehicle ratings by year.
The private, not-for-profit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) also conducts crash tests and safety ratings for various vehicles.
IIHS conducts dynamic crash tests that indicate how well people in real collisions would fare, and reports regularly on results. They test for frontal crashworthiness, including crashing vehicles head-on into a rigid barrier; side crashworthiness, where vehicles are hit from the side by moving barriers that represent high-riding vehicles like SUVs and pickup trucks; and rear crashworthiness, where the test car is struck from behind.
IIHS publishes safety ratings for most popular vehicles annually. To check the specific crashworthiness rating of a car you’re considering buying you can visit their web site at iihs.org.
If you select new car candidates based on IIHS or the DOT safety picks and then shop for a car with fit and safety features in mind, you’ll know that you’re purchasing a car that’s among the safest available.
Function Over Form
There are a wide range of vehicle styles and features. Look beyond the color and hubcaps and consider vehicles that have features that allow the greatest visibility of the environment, are easiest to get in and out of, provide the most comfortable use of the steering, gas and brake, as well as the greatest potential to benefit from the safety features in the event of a crash.
A Free Resource for Car Shoppers
The Hartford has teamed up with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to publish a helpful Shopping for a Safer Car 2010 booklet.
Winter Driving Tips
Bundle & Save
You can save up to 20% on home insurance and 10% on car insurance when you bundle policies together.
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