Crash safety ratings for passenger vehicles

Introduction

Dictionary.com (n.d.)., has defined safety as the state of being safe, freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss. In our everyday routine we take safety in many areas, starting from kitchen to road. As we know, accidents are unpredictable therefore we should be more conscious about the safety measures. Crash safety measures helps to reduce the risks. Crash safety rating indicates the safety level of travelling through the vehicles and its ratings are judged on the basis of performance of the vehicle.

Highest and Lowest Ratings of Vehicles

            According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2013), the vehicles that received the highest rating were Toyota’s Yaris, Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet: Impala, Malibu, Spark, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Veloster, Infiniti Q50, Kia Forte, Lexus IS250, Mazda: Mazda3, Mazda6, Mercedez-Benz E-Class. Vehicles with features like emergency braking, intelligent speed assist, nine air bags, anti-lock breaking system, whiplash-lessening front seats, front seatbelt pretensioners are referred to as measures for highest safety rating vehicles.

The vehicle that received the lowest rating was Toyota Prius C which was among the six subcompact cars that earned a 'poor' rating in a new kind of front-end crash test by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Importance of Crash-Safety Ratings

            Crash safety ratings help the consumer to choose the vehicle that is safe to buy. It plays important role in selecting a particular brand of car. Since buying car is a long term planning for lots as it involves huge investment, it is important to check for safety of the vehicle. Crash safety reports provide the complete summary based on the car test. The rating is done out of 5 scales. Therefore, crash safety acts more like providing guidance to the customer about the vehicle they should purchase.

            The degree of importance definitely depends on the circumstances of the buyer. The price, location, awareness, class, priority, choice and the preference of the buyers influences a lot in purchase decision. It may also depend on the hearsays about the product as spending money is not a easy step people listen and check around in details about the brand. This might urge the buyer to select a vehicle having a good crash safety rating.

Type of Buyers Concerned with Crash Safety Rating

            Usually, the family person, the senior citizens, business tycoons, socially responsible person, politicians would be more concerned with the crash safety ratings. On the other hand, youngsters would not be much concerned about the crash safety rating since their preferences would be more on the fashionable design, power, style and features.

Other Features Influencing Buyers

            As advertisement and new products are always attracting people, price could be a major feature in influencing buyers to buy a particular vehicle. For those prices does not matter much focuses on the safety of the vehicle while for the rest there are limited options to buy. Location and availability of the designs would also influence the buyers since if the location is in a very rough and difficult path, it would be more preferable to buy off-road vehicles having more power and strength. Apart from cost and location, preference of the buyers would also be able to sway the interest of consumers, as mentioned above, for youngsters design, stylish vehicle attracts the most.

Summary and Conclusion

            Crash safety rating is a benchmark that rates the vehicles on the basis of various tests. It plays major role in securing the lives of many people. Since, safety is the foremost concern of people, the manufacturer should do more R&D in order to have good credit safety ratings which would save lives of many people who might be the victim of vehicle crash.