When purchasing a new vehicle people look at a lot of different factors. If safety is your main concern, you have to rely on data from NHTSA and IIHS. On their websites you can find out how any vehicle fared in front, rear and side impact crash test. You’re looking for a five-star rating from the NHTSA and a “Good” rating from the IIHS. The alternative would be to crash the cars ourselves to see how well they fare, and while some of us are crazy enough to do it, the rest would rather these two agencies handle the ditry work. We take their results at face value, but are they really accurate? Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business professors David Harless and George Hoffer decided to take the data to another level.

The professors came up with a clever way to test whether or not crash tests work: compare fatality rates for vehicles that went from a lower crash test score to a higher score after a redesign. When looking at the passenger car segment, the tests proved very accurate. When comparing a five star NHTSA rating to a one star rating the driver death rate rose 18%. Going from a two star to a five star netted a whopping 36% decrease in fatalities. When comparing data from IIHS, cars rated “Poor” saw 43% higher death rates than vehicles rated “Good”. Trucks and SUVs, however, didn’t see the same effect. Tests came up statistically flat between low-rated vehicles and high-rated vehicles.

In the end, crash tests do matter if you’re looking to buy a car. For SUVs and trucks, perhaps the driver may be the biggest difference between safety and harm. An amazing 95% of all new vehicles receive five star ratings from the NHTSA, which has pretty much rendered those tests useless anyway. The Department of Transportation is looking at ways to make its tests tougher and give automakers that produce truly safe vehicles something to brag about again.

Useful link:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/

What we wish to see its a car that can protect its occupant when mishap happens!

This is bcoz we are already quite bored seeing the purpose of car on bolehland are meant to transport people from point A to point B.

Why can’t we have something similar to Japan or Korea. Even their small
car are safer(in term of protection to its occupant).

However, accident occur. This is where it became concern for everybody. Is it safe? Well that depend on the scale of the accident. If the accident is minor than its better to have p2 kancil than a motorcycle where u can be thrown off the bike and off you go to graveyard or broken neck atleast. In major accident well, just pray that you are still breathing. Believe me, i’ve seen it and its not a nice one.

So, safety does very important in a car. All that crash test result could be very helpful in influencing your decision to buy a car. Unfortunately, not all people are wealthy enough to purchase a decent family saloon car. Not that bigger and more expensive car could save you in an accident though. I think its us who need to be educated on how to behave on the road. I mean you don’t want you’re driving safely and then from no where some reckless person drive crash into you right? No matter safe or not, all that safety is meant to minimise the injury to the occupant of the car.

my point? Just drive carefully out there guys. No matter in what vehicle you are in, if you reckless it pays to remember that if you don’t get killed in that accident, you could be the killer.

Kancil to score marks in EURO NCAP? This has gotta be the funniest joke around. You watch too mant anime, iz it?

Be aware that we’re nt just bashing small cars blindly. It’s simply any car that’s unimpressive deserves to be trashed. You want a good small car, get Smartfortwo, or Toyota Aygo/Citroen C1/Peugout 107 . Else, they’re mostly rubbish, produced for the sake of making money, not out of passion. Expensive or not available here? Then dun buy it, get something else.

If Perodua’s rly concerned, they shud make Kelisa the smallest range in their line-up, just like they did in UK. What’s wrong with everyone here? Forever complain Proton still sell Saga, so how abt Perodua stopping Kancil? Why cannot complain on that? Cuz you’re driving a Perodua, iz it? Well, I drive a Saga, bt I can still think Proton ought to stop Saga, or at least make a much, much, improved replacement that can give Vios n City a run for their money.

small cars don’t save lives? heck, even a bmw/volvo/merc with a 5 star NCAP driven recklessly won’t save your life. it’s all in the hands of the person behind the wheels. one can even ride a bicycle from kl to kota bharu without being killed.

do you know that the kancil has been modified as a jet fighter?

http://opstupe.blogspot.com/2007/02/malaysia-produced-own-jet-fighters.html

Thats a little short sighted to say that.

There are a good number more of kancils (or small cars) on the road. Plenty of circumstances. Most important factor is not the car, but the driver. The driver has to be a little bit more aware that they are driving a smaller car. Most often the case, shit happens. I think the Kancil has done much to get people into 4 wheels from bikes. I think its has already done its part for safety. Its up to the driver to do his/her part, they have to learn to be responsible for thier own safety.

Buying a bigger, better designed and equipped (and expensive) car is like buying life insurance. Some can and some cant afford to. When things get really screwed up, can you blame insurance companies and the government for not making insurance afforable?

Safer cars may just encourage people to drive more recklessly. If every car is equipped with a big spike coming out of the steering wheel, instead of an airbag or padded plastic cover, i can bet that people will a bit more carefull.

It does not quite matter what car you are in if you get T-Boned or head-on by a lorry. There is always a bigger vehicle there to hit you.

No matter what car you drive, you dont have much space between the door and yourself. Even side airbags are there to cushion the blow but they are not fool proof.

Just drive safe and have a good sense of safety (ie. wear seatbelts, have kids belted down on the back seat..etc)

All we want its a chassis that able to protect its occupant all round, frontal impact, side and rear! at maybe 60km/h and also steering and brake pedal that will retract when there a frontal impact!