Before buying a new car, checking the safety should be the top priority, whether you’re a frequent driver or just trying to get the family from A to B. The main aim of Euro NCAP is to test and record the safety of a range of different makes and models, in terms of the safety systems they feature and the strength of the materials used to build the car.

The Process
Choosing the Car
It would be an incredibly time-consuming task, you could say impossible, to test every single model which comes on the market. By choosing the most popular and interesting models which are either being sold now or just approaching the market, these are the cars which will be tested in terms of safety.
Rating the Car
Each car they’ve chosen will take part in a range of different realistic tests which would potentially end up with the occupants of the car being either killed or seriously injured. Each car will rate:

1. Adult Occupant
– Offset-Deformable Barrier ODB
– Full Width Rigid Barrier
– Side Mobile Barrier
– Side Pole
– Whiplash
– AEB City
2. Child Occupant
– CRS Performance
– Vehicle Provisions
– CRS Installation Check
3. Pedestrian
– Head Impact
– Upper Leg Impact
– Lower Leg Impact
– AEB Pedestrian
4. Safety Assist
– Electronic Stability Control
– Seatbelt Reminders
– Speed Assistance
– AEB Interurban
– Lane Support

Each test which is done will earn points, depending on how well they’ve handled it, which will add up to an overall percentage out of 100. These scores go towards the overall star rating, in which 5 is the
highest and therefore the best. As well as this, the safety systems the car features, whether they’re up-to-date or not, also affects the overall star rating so keep in mind that the more stars the car has, the safer it will be.

What do the stars mean?

5* = Receiving a 5-star rating means that the overall performance of the car is good in terms of crash protection. The car is well equipped with reliable and sturdy technology.

4* = The crash protection of the car is good, but there’s room for additional avoidance technology.

3* = Lacking crash avoidance technology but the overall protection of the occupants is average to good.

2* = Average crash protection but lacks in terms of crash avoidance technology.

1* = Little protection.

If safety isn’t an issue with your chosen car, then make sure it’s up to the highest standard appearance wise. You can do this by getting your car paint repaired which gives your car the ‘brand new’ look. On the other hand, if your car isn’t as safe as you’d hoped and you’ve unwillingly taken part in a collision, make sure all of the cars scratches are repaired.