Top Safety Picks 2012
To determine crashworthiness — how well a vehicle protects its occupants in
a crash — the Institute rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal, or poor
based on performance in high-speed front and side crash tests, a rollover test, plus evaluations
of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. To
earn Top Safety Pick for 2012 a vehicle must have good ratings
in all four Institute tests. See past winners
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- Minicars
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built after July 2011
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Ford Fiesta
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(only 4-door models)
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- Midsize moderately priced cars
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(only 4-door models)
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(only 4-door models)
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- Large pickups
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(crew cab models)
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(crew cab models)
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40 mph frontal offset crash tests are good assessments of vehicles' structural designs.
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Side crash tests are good assessments of occupant protection when vehicles are struck in the side by SUVs or pickups.
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Rollover ratings assess vehicle roof strength for protection in rollover crashes.
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Rear crash protection/head restraint ratings focus on how well seat/head restraint combinations protect against whiplash injury.
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Electronic stability control (ESC) significantly reduces crash risk, especially the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes, by helping drivers maintain control of their vehicles during emergency maneuvers.
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Bumper evaluations — The Institute's series of 4 tests (front and rear full-width impacts at 6 mph and front and rear corner impacts at 3 mph) produce the kinds and amounts of damage that commonly occur in low-speed collisions. |
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