New
Car Assessment Program and Government Safety Ratings from
Your Car Accident Lawyer in Tampa
Most people have heard about 5-star government
ratings for vehicles, especially on TV advertisements for
new cars. The 5-star government rating refers to the New
Car Assessment Program, or NCAP, which provides the public
with vehicle safety information.
As any experienced car
accident lawyer in Tampa will tell you, injuries can
occur in any type of car, truck, SUV, van, or other vehicle,
no matter what the vehicle’s safety rating is. Sometimes
a vehicle defect will be the cause of an injury. However,
vehicles with a higher rating are statistically safer to
drive than lower-rated vehicles. This is an important consideration
whenever a person is ready to buy a new vehicle.
Initiated in 1978, the NCAP is part of the
U.S. Department of Transportation, under the umbrella of
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The
NCAP offers relative safety potential for front crash ratings,
side crash ratings, and rollover ratings. These ratings
are meant to help consumers in their buying decisions. The
ratings are presented in a 1- to 5-star system, with 5-star
being the highest rating. (Due to limits in budget, the
NCAP does not rate rear-impact crashes.)
Not all vehicles are rated by the NCAP.
Instead, vehicles are selected based on their sales volume
or recent changes in safety design and equipment. Even though
not all vehicles are rated by the NCAP, all vehicles sold
in the United States must comply with Federal vehicle safety
standards.
To calculate the ratings, the NCAP uses
adult-sized, crash-rating dummies. Instruments measure the
force of impact on each dummy’s head, neck, chest,
pelvis, legs, and feet. The 5-star system rates the chance
of a serious head or chest injury to the driver and front-seat
passenger. For example, a 5-star rated vehicle for front-impact
crashes means the driver or front seat passenger in that
vehicle would have a 10 percent or less chance of sustaining
a serious injury during a front-end crash.
Anyone who wishes to learn the 5-star government
rating of a vehicle can visit www.safercar.gov. For more
information about how a car accident
lawyer in Tampa may be able to help you recover losses
from serious injuries during any type of vehicle accident,
please call or e-mail Clark and Martino, P.A.
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