New Car Safety Tests Show: Smaller Cars Have Improved Safety Performance
June 1st, 2011 § Leave a Comment
According to a recent article from Insurance Journal, “as automakers are building more small cars, they are managing to make them safer than ever, new car safety tests show. Six of the 13 small cars recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) earned the group’s top safety pick award, and none earned a poor rating in any of four tests.” According to the article, “This is a turnaround from a few years ago when small cars struggled to earn top safety ratings. The new tests include hybrids and gasoline-only models that are among the most fuel-efficient vehicles available in the U.S. market.”
Here are some facts about the safety ratings:
- The ratings are based on performance in front, side, rollover, and rear impact evaluations.
- Cars that earn the top rating of good in each test and have available electronic stability control (ESC) qualify for top safety pick.
- Winners are the 2012 Ford Focus and Honda Civic, along with the 2011 Hyundai Elantra, Lexus CT 200h hybrid, Nissan Juke, and Toyota Prius hybrid.
According to the article, “the IIHS began awarding top safety picks for the 2006 model year with less stringent criteria than today. Then only three small cars earned the designation (Honda Civic, Saab 9-2X, and Subaru Impreza). Now 22 small models, including those the Institute tested previously, earn the award with tougher requirements including a roof strength test, an ESC requirement to help drivers avoid crashes, and a higher bar for rear impact protection.”
David Zuby, the institute’s chief research officer said that lightweight cars “don’t protect their occupants as well as bigger, heavier ones. Even though fuel prices sometimes defy gravity, the laws of physics always are in effect for cars. That’s why it’s important that the crashworthiness designs of smaller cars be as good as possible. The new ratings demonstrate that small cars are much safer than they used to be.”
The article also mentioned, “Small cars used to have the least safety equipment. Now all have standard side airbags, and in this group all but the Caliber, SX4, and Versa have standard ESC for preventing many kinds of crashes. Auto manufacturers put ESC on cars and SUVs after research by the IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demonstrated the effectiveness of this feature. An IIHS study found that ESC reduces fatal single-vehicle crashes by up to 50 percent. The government will require standard ESC on all new vehicles, starting with 2012 models.”
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