Another feature allows you to click on Front, Side or Rear to look at even more detailed crash test analysis. The Nissan Quest and Ford Freestar both had a "good" overall score on front crashes but scored only "acceptable" for head and neck injuries. The Odyssey had a good overall score for side impact, but rear passenger safety in a side impact was only "acceptable" for torso injuries.

Another option is www.safercar.gov, which is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration New Car Assessment Program. It gives five star crash and rollover ratings. Click "FAQ" at the bottom of the middle column to see what the stars mean for each test. Five stars in a front crash means 10 percent or less chance of serious injury. The site allows you to build a list of cars of different makes and models to compare safety rankings.

When shopping for a car, it's a good idea to look at both sites. The safercar.gov site, for instance, looks at full-width frontal crash tests, while the IIHS site uses offset crash ratings where only one side of the vehicle's front end is hit. The full front crash can give better information on safety features, but the offset crashes can take a bigger toll on the car and are more likely to push into where the driver or passenger is sitting. The government site doesn't do rear crash ratings but it does do rollover ratings. The insurance site does rear crashes and electronic stability tests.

The downside of both sites is that not every car has been tested. Other Web sites claim to provide car-safety data, but it isn't always clear who is sponsoring a site and most used government or insurance institute data anyway. One exception is consumerreports.org, which provides safety information not found on other sites. I particularly liked a section devoted to the best and worst cars for blind spots. A one-month subscription to the site is only $5.95.

Here are the best Web sites to learn about car safety:

www.iihs.org. Crash test data from insurance industry researchers

www.safercar.gov. Five-star crash rating system from government tests

www.consumerreports.org. Fee-based site with independent safety data