NHTSA To Adjust Vehicle Safety Ratings

Washington DC January 18, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced plans Monday to overhaul the government's car safety ratings by strengthening crash tests and measuring new collision avoidance technology.

Safety and consumer groups have called the current ratings too vague. The L.A. Times reports that the new frontal crash tests would evaluate how a person's upper legs are affected in a collision and assess how side air bags protect a driver's head.

The results of both tests would be combined into a single rating, which transportation planners said would make it easier for car buyers to understand how vehicles performed on important safety measurements. "You cannot use the information if you cannot understand it or it is not readily available," Peters said.