Our Chicago car accident attorneys encourage those shopping for a car to make the government’s new and improved 5-Star Safety Rating System a part of their review process.
The new rating system comes with more rigid safety standards, an overall vehicle rating, and the use of female crash-test dummies for the first time, in addition to the male test dummies that have been in use for years.”More stars equal safer cars,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “With our upgraded Five-Star Safety Ratings System, we’re raising the bar on safety. Through new tests, better crash data, and higher standards, we are making the safety ratings tougher and more meaningful for consumers.”
The safety of you and your family can depend to some extent on your choice of vehicles and the emphasis the manufacturer has placed on safety. We have all seen some of the new subcompact cars and perhaps you have wondered about their ability to withstand a collision with a mailbox, let alone another car on the road. Certainly prospective owners should check their safety rating. Conversely, the periodic news about rollovers and SUVs and the news this past year about the Toyota recalls, illustrates that bigger does not always mean safer.
Nor do you have to spend a fortune to drive a car with a high safety rating: Of the cars tested thus far this year, the BMW 5 series received a 5-Star rating, but so did the modestly priced Hyundai Sonata.
The new 5-star system will rate passengers cars, SUVs, vans and pickup trucks in three areas, rollover resistance, frontal crash and side crash.
“We want consumers to embrace these new safety technologies as a way to make vehicles safer,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland. “We believe electronic stability control, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning offer significant safety benefits and consumers should consider them when buying a new car.”
Here you will find government safety ratings for new and used cars in Illinois.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident in Chicago or the surrounding area, contact an Illinois personal injury lawyer at Abels & Annes for a free consultation. Call (866) 99-ABELS.