The safety of a car depends on several factors, including crashworthiness, safety technology, and real-world safety performance data. The safety of a specific car can be best assessed by referring to official safety rating programs such as:
- Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) - Provides star ratings (0 to 5 stars) based on occupant protection, pedestrian protection, child protection, and safety technology. A 5-star rating indicates excellent safety standards. The ratings are regularly updated as safety standards improve over time.
- ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) - Similar to Euro NCAP but for the Australian and New Zealand markets. It provides safety ratings based on crash tests and safety technologies.
- NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in the US - Offers 5-star safety ratings considering crashworthiness and rollover resistance.
- IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) in the US - Evaluates crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies.
If one wants to know "how safe is my car," the best approach is to look up its specific rating in one of these programs, by searching the car's make, model, and year on the respective official websites or databases. Newer cars tend to have better safety technology and higher ratings. Older cars may have lower safety ratings, especially compared to modern standards. In summary, the safety of a car is best measured by its official safety rating from recognized crash test and assessment organizations. Checking these ratings for the particular vehicle model and year will give the most precise and reliable answer about how safe the car is.