Car crash videos now available online

Consumers now have free access to more than 200 crash test videos as part of a collaboration between Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These online videos bring a new level of research detail to shoppers looking for a new or used car, minivan, truck, or SUV. Footage of some 200 vehicles tested at IIHS' state-of-the-art Vehicle Research Center (VRC) in Ruckersville, Virginia, can be found at ConsumerReports.org/crashtest. Visitors to the Web site can search by make, model, and year to witness how well the new or used vehicle they are considering -- or even their current vehicle -- protects occupants in frontal offset and side-impact collisions. Details of crash results, such as overall performance and potential injuries, are explained by CR's Jeff Bartlett. Consumer Reports will add more crash-test videos as the IIHS continues its testing.