ROLLOVER RESISTANCE RATINGS

In addition to doing frontal- and side-impact crash testing, NHTSA does rollover-resistance testing. NHTSA rollover-resistance ratings measure the chance that your vehicle will roll over if you are involved in a single-vehicle crash. The rollover resistance rating is based on: (1) an at-rest laboratory measurement known as the static stability factor (SSF) which determines how “top heavy” a vehicle is, and (2) the results of a driving maneuver that tests whether a vehicle tips up. In short, the rollover rating brings together a measure of how “top-heavy” a vehicle is with how well it performs in a severe turning maneuver on a test track. NHTSA’s rollover resistance ratings reflect the real-world rollover characteristics of vehicles involved in more than 86,000 single-vehicle crashes. As with side-impact crash test ratings, you can compare vehicles from different weight classes when looking at rollover ratings. NHTSA rollover resistance ratings can be found at www.safercar.gov.