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Feds Require Safety Info on New Car Window Stickers

September 8, 2006

Auto Safety • Teen Misjudgment Major Factor in Highway Accidents • New Auto Safety Legislation Aims to Protect Children • Insurance Group: Supersport Motorcycles Deadly • Feds Consider Tougher Auto Safety Ratings • Congress Urged to Protect Children from Vehicle Deaths • Motorcycle Death Rates Rising, Safety Chief Warns • Feds to Require Additional Minivan Door Latch • Survey: Teens Still Driving Dangerously • Feds Propose Recorders to Monitor Truckers' Hours • Feds Propose New Auto Safety Tests • Consumers Choosing Tiny Cars Despite Safety Risks • IIHS: Bigger is Better in Car Safety • NHTSA's Dirty Little Secrets • Feds Find Backup Sensors Ineffective • Simpler Dashboards Might Make Cars Safer • States Struggle to Cut Highway Fatality Rate • Ford Makes Stability Control Standard for 2009 • Feds Require Safety Info on New Car Window Stickers • Motorcycle, Pedestrian Deaths Rising • Safer Cars, Not Safer Drivers, Reducing Highway Deaths • Former Lobbyist in Driver's Seat at NHTSA • Must-Have Safety and Convenience Features for New Car Shopping • More ...

Auto manufacturers will have to display the government's safety ratings on every new 2008 vehicle, using an expanded window sticker to provide consumers with safety rating information about new vehicles.

The new federal rule requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) star safety rating information to be displayed on part of the window sticker allowing consumers to measure safety information by the number of stars on the sticker.

The new vehicle price stickers will contain NHTSA safety ratings in three areas – front and side crash and non-destructive rollover tests. All three tests use the five-star rating, with five stars being the safest.

The safety displays must be on all vehicles, except pickups, no later than September 1, 2007 and the stickers must be prominently displayed.

"By making safety a selling point, it is my hope that this rule will encourage the faster development of these kinds of technologies," NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason said.

Joan Claybrook, president of consumer group Public Citizen, expects the stickers will guide consumers and automakers alike.

"If one vehicle has a bad rating they will be worried about it because it's going to be right there in the consumer's face. Dealers will be worried about it," Claybrook said.

"By placing safety ratings directly on new car window stickers consumers will have the ability to make more informed decisions right there on the car sales lot," Ohio Republican Senator Mike DeWine said. DeWine was a strong advocate of the rule when it was under consideration.

Some automakers, including Honda Motor Co. and General Motors already include basic safety information on window stickers but they do not include all the information the government will now require.

Ford Motor Co. said many but not all of its vehicles include safety labels.

While pickups are excluded from many consumer safety promotions, Ford, which makes the popular F-series pickup, and GM both say they will put safety stickers on their pickups. Ford also plans to inform buyers about its features for controlling vehicle stability.

NHTSA safety ratings can be seen at: www.safercar.gov.

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