The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has issued its Top Safety Picks for 2011 among autos on the market for 2011. The ratings are based on a good, acceptable, marginal, or poor performance based on the standards of front, side, and rear crashes, as well as rollover standards. To earn a top spot a car must rate “good” in all four categories plus have electronic stability control. What to look for?
Frontal Offset Crash Test
IIHS says about half of those killed in collisions nationwide die in frontal crashes. To test crashworthiness, passenger vehicles were crashed at 35 mph into a vehicle-wide rigid barrier. In an offset test, the car hits a barrier at 40 mph but in this test 40 percent of the width of the car strikes the barrier on the driver’s side. The engineers measure the vehicle’s structural performance, the measurement of injury on the dummy and the dummy’s movement. A driver today is 46 percent less likely to die in a frontal crashes in a car rated “good” compared with a poorly rated vehicle.
Side Impact Crash Test
A side impact is more likely to lead to a serious injury or fatality because there is less to crumple when compared to the front or rear of the vehicle. Side crashes account for about 25 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in the United States. A car rated “good” offers about a 70 percent less likelihood to die in a left-side crash, according to the IIHS. In a vehicle rated “marginal” the driver is 49 percent less likely to die.
Roof Strength
Rollover accidents kill more than 10,000 people a year. While electronic stability control reduces rollovers, side airbags also help protect in a rollover accident and of course, seat belts are vital. In addition, the roof strength reduces the risk of a crushed roof coming in contact with the victim’s head. To earn the “good” rating, a crush force four times the car’s weight must resist a 5 inch crush. An effective head restraint protects against the soft tissue injury of whiplash.
If you or a loved one has been involved in an auto accident in Florida and suffered an injury or death, the Florida crashworthiness attorneys at Farah & Farah understand the investigation that needs to take place into your accident to determine whether a design defect, vehicle malfunction, or other error contributed to your accident. Do not leave yourself vulnerable again. Call us for a complimentary consultation on your case today.
Source: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/
