Understanding car safety ratings is crucial when you Compare Cars, and the Overall Vehicle Score provides a quick way to assess safety performance. This score, often represented as a star rating, is calculated based on injury probabilities from frontal and side crash tests, along with rollover resistance assessments. These probabilities are weighted to reflect real-world injury proportions for each crash type. The resulting score indicates whether a vehicle’s average injury risk is higher or lower compared to the average risk across all vehicles.
Here’s a breakdown of the Overall Vehicle Score ratings:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Injury risk much less than average
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Injury risk less than average to average
- ⭐⭐⭐: Injury risk average to greater than average
- ⭐⭐: Injury risk greater than average
- ⭐: Injury risk much greater than average
However, when you compare cars using Overall Vehicle Scores, it’s essential to consider the limitations. Direct comparisons are only meaningful between vehicles in the same class and with weights within plus or minus 250 pounds of each other.
For example, it is not appropriate to compare the safety score of a 4,500-pound SUV to a 3,000-pound sedan. These vehicles are in different classes and exceed the weight difference limit. Similarly, comparing a 3,600-pound pickup truck to a 3,400-pound van is also invalid due to different vehicle classes, despite meeting the weight criteria.
On the other hand, it is valid to compare the Overall Vehicle Scores of a 3,400-pound passenger car with a 3,650-pound passenger car because they belong to the same class and the weight difference is within the acceptable range.
Therefore, while Overall Vehicle Scores are helpful in quickly gauging safety, remember to compare cars within similar weight classes and vehicle types for accurate and relevant safety assessments. When you compare cars, always consider these guidelines for a meaningful safety evaluation.
