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Tag Archives: iihs
Large Pickups Good in Side Impacts. Back Seat Safety Lacking
The Ram 1500 crew cab, Ford F-150 crew cab and Toyota Tundra crew cab, all 2023 models, earn good ratings in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s updated side crash test, while the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab is rated acceptable, IIHS said today. However, in the updated moderate overlap front crash test, which now emphasizes back seat safety, only the Tundra manages a marginal rating. The F-150, Ram 1500 and Silverado are rated poor. Continue reading
Posted in engineering, insurance, news analysis, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab, crash testing, David Harkey. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Ford F-150 crew cab, iihs, Ken Zino, Ram 1500 crew cab, side impacts, Toyota Tundra crew cab
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NHTSA Proposes Rule Expanding Seat Belt Use Warnings
In 2019, NHTSA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on a variety of issues related to potential rear seat belt warning requirements. The feedback from the 45 comments received years ago was incorporated [Finally? Slowly?] into the development of the newly issued NPRM. Continue reading
IIHS – Small Crew Cab Pickups Flunk Crash Tests
Most small pickups fall short when it comes to protecting passengers seated in the rear, according to the latest crash test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released today. None of the five small crew cab pickups IIHS evaluated has a good rating. The Nissan Frontier is rated acceptable. The Ford Ranger earns a marginal rating, and the Chevrolet Colorado, Jeep Gladiator and Toyota Tacoma are all rated poor. The ratings only apply to the crew cab versions. Continue reading
IIHS – NHTSA Misjudges Value of Truck Side-Underride Guards
“Requiring side underride guards could save more than 10 times as many lives as NHTSA projects,” said IIHS Senior Research Engineer Matthew Brumbelow. In 2021, there were 488 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in crashes involving the side of a tractor-trailer. Continue reading
Friends, Families Can Change Distracted Driving Behaviors
“It may come as a surprise, but many drivers still don’t realize how dangerous it is to check a text message or glance at their Instagram feed while they’re zipping along the road,” said IIHS Research Associate Aimee Cox, the lead author of the study. Continue reading
Seattle Streets Safer Because of Lower Speeds
“When we talk about the Safe System approach, we always stress that nobody should have to die because of a mistake,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “These results illustrate the value of rethinking speed limits. Crashes still happened after Seattle’s changes, but they weren’t as dangerous.” Continue reading
IIHS Toughens Musts for Top Safety Pick Ratings
The biggest change to the criteria for both awards is the replacement of the original IIHS side crash test with the updated evaluation launched in 2021. The updated test involves 82% more energy than the original test. Vehicles must earn an acceptable or good rating to qualify for Top Safety Pick, while a good rating is required for the “plus.” Notably absent from the highest Plus rating are products from what were once called the Detroit Three makers thus far. Continue reading
Posted in awards, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, David Harkey, iihs, Ken Zino, Top Safety Pick
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IIHS – Crash Avoidance Technology Works But Tough to Fix
Repeated trips to a repair shop are not uncommon with other routine mechanical repairs, either, and most owners reported that their insurance or warranty covered the complete cost, minus any deductible. However, in the long run, post warranty, insurance companies might be responsible for their insureds. Hence the report is an attempt to mitigate the problem. Continue reading
Deadly Cocktail – Marijuana and Alcohol
“Alcohol impairment is associated with almost 30% of the fatalities on our roadways, and we have made very little progress to reduce this toll over the past three decades. Now we are adding another impairing substance to the mix,” IIHS President David Harkey said ahead of his presentation at the annual meeting of the Governors’ Highway Safety Association in Louisville, Kentucky. Continue reading
Night Testing Scores of Pedestrian Automatic Braking Poor
However, since reaching a low point in 2009, federal estimates for 2021 show pedestrian crash deaths have risen ~80%. The ~7300 pedestrians killed in 2021 accounted for almost a fifth of all traffic fatalities. Three-quarters of those fatalities occur at night, when research shows most pedestrian AEB systems are less effective. Continue reading
New Side-Crash Tests: Few Mid-Size Cars Rated Good
New Side-Crash Tests: Few Mid-Size Cars Rated Good Continue reading
Posted in insurance, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, iihs, Ken Zino, side impact tests, Top Safety Pick award
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IIHS Wants Speed limiters on Trucks: ’bout time!
Why this is creeping at an idle rate in the bureaucracy is inexplicable because excessive speed was a factor in about one-third of all US crash deaths during 2020. FMCSA began discussing speed limiters more than a decade ago. Continue reading
IIHS: Federal Rule On Truck Under-Ride Inadequate
The US DOT Safe System approach works by building and reinforcing multiple layers of protection to both prevent crashes from happening and minimize the harm caused to those involved when crashes do occur. This is a change from a conventional safety approach because it focuses on both human mistakes And human vulnerability. In theory, it designs a system with many redundancies in place to protect everyone. Continue reading
Posted in safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, David Harkey, dot, iihs, Ken Zino, under-ride protection
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Life Saving Seat Belt Reminders Improving
Automakers have moved quickly to install louder, more persistent seat belt reminders, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said today. IIHS began rating the devices in 2022. The first year, only 17% of the new models tested earned a good rating; 65% were rated marginal or poor. However, 62% of the 2024 models tested so far are rated good. Only 24% are rated marginal or poor.
“The math is pretty simple,” said David Kidd, the IIHS senior research scientist who led that research as well as the development of the seat belt reminder rating program. “We found that an audible reminder that lasts at least 90 seconds increased belt use by around 30%. That means we could save almost 1,600 lives a year if every vehicle on the road was equipped with a good-rated system.” Continue reading →