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Volume Six, Issue 8
AUGUST 2004

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Rollover Rating System

As a consumer, you have the right to make an informed decision about a vehicle’s likelihood to roll over from a single-vehicle crash. To help you do so, NHTSA provides rollover ratings as part of its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

NCAP, which uses a star rating system (one to five), has recently been enhanced. The updated system still uses results from the established static test, but also takes into account the results from a new dynamic track test. To research ratings for specific vehicles, visit www.safercar.gov.

Determining Ratings

Starting with 2004 model year vehicles, rollover ratings will be labeled as the combined rollover resistance rating, and will combine both the stationary (at-rest) measurement known as the Static Stability Factor (SSF) and the tip-up or no tip-up results of the dynamic maneuvering rollover test. Individual test results, where available, can be viewed on the test details web page for each vehicle at www.safercar.gov.

For model years 2003 and earlier, rollover ratings will still have star ratings, but will be labeled as static rollover resistance ratings, and will be based on the SSF rating only. Consumers making cross-year comparisons of vehicles’ rollover ratings need to be aware of this difference.

Interpreting Ratings

A vehicle’s rollover resistance rating is an estimate of its risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash, not a prediction of the likelihood of a crash. As the chart below indicates, the lowest-rated vehicles (1 star) are at least four times more likely to roll over than the highest-rated vehicles (5 stars) when involved in a single-vehicle crash.

	Has a risk of rollover of less than 10%
	Has a risk of rollover between 10% and 20%
	Has a risk of rollover between 20% and 30%
	Has a risk of rollover between 30% and 40%
	Has a risk of rollover greater than 40%

NHTSA’s rollover ratings reflect the real-world rollover experience of vehicles involved in over 86,000 single-vehicle crashes.

Vehicle Class Comparison

This chart helps consumers make comparisons across vehicle classes. The information is based on data from all vehicles tested under NHTSA’s 2001-2003 rollover resistance ratings system (Static Stability Factor, SSF, only). For example, the passenger cars that were tested have 4- or 5-star ratings, and an average chance of rollover of approximately 12% if involved in a single-vehicle crash. The range for passenger cars is approximately 6% to 19%.