NHTSA Unveils New Tests, New 5-star Safety Rating System for Cars

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday announced significant changes to its tests and rating system for every new car in the U.S. Beginning in 2018, new cars will be rated on a five-star system, in half-star increments (for the first time), and will encompass information from new tests — including front overlap crashes already in use by other safety organizations — and pedestrian impact information.

The proposed changes would place an emphasis on active safety features such as blind spot monitoring and crash avoidance systems. The announcement Tuesday followed a statement last month that the agency would recommend automatic emergency braking on new cars beginning in 2018.

“The changes provide more and better information to new-vehicle shoppers that will help accelerate the technology innovations that saves lives,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The proposed changes by NHTSA include a “frontal oblique crash” test similar to tests already used by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The frontal oblique crash would measure the relative safety of a car struck at a 15-degree angle by an object that overlaps 35 percent of the overall car width, on the driver’s side only, according to the proposed rules.

The test mimics the IIHS’s moderate overlap and small overlap crash tests, of which the latter has been particularly onerous for manufacturers to ace.

NHTSA also announced it would test pedestrian safety for new vehicles by measuring head and leg injuries when struck by those vehicles and use new dummies to better measure injuries for drivers and passengers in crashes.

“NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings program was the first of its kind, and the idea has now spread around the world,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind in a statement Tuesday. “Today, we’re adding to that legacy of global safety leadership, ensuring that American consumers have the best possible information about how to protect themselves and their families, and taking a significant step forward in our efforts to save lives and prevent injuries.”