Oddly enough, despite failing the most recent frontal accident testing conducted by the insurance industry, compact SUVs are still just as secure as before.
This is a result of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety updating the test to emphasize the need to keep passengers in the backseat safe.
Only the Ford Escape and Volvo XC40 received this year’s testing’s highest “good” rating, which was announced on Tuesday.
The Toyota RAV4 received an “acceptable” rating, while the Audi Q3, Nissan Rogue, and Subaru Forester received “marginal” ratings.
The remaining vehicles, including the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Buick Encore, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V and HR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Renegade, received the lowest rating of “poor.”
According to IIHS President David Harkey, the test is being modified since SUVs are now safer for front-seat passengers than those in the back, thanks to changes to vehicle chassis, airbags, and seat belts. According to Harkey, the chance of a fatal injury has increased 46% for passengers in the backseat compared to drivers in the front.
Before, Harkey explained, “we were solely concerned with how well the driver was protected. The car hasn’t become any less safe, to be sure.
Harkey claims that historically, the manufacturers have reacted favorably to the changes made to the institute’s well-known tests to improve safety.
According to Harkey, newer belts contain sensors that detect impending collisions and pull a passenger into the correct seating position before a crash, lowering the person’s speed along with the car. To prevent belts from rising off the pelvis and into the abdomen, where they might inflict severe internal damage, he explained, they loosen a little after contact.
According to Harkey, some automakers have already upgraded the seat belts in their back seats, which doesn’t require a significant model update.
He claimed that “the sector has always done a fantastic job of reacting to the tests we have introduced.”
“In this case, we anticipate that they will do so, and we anticipate that they will be able to do so swiftly.”
The institution tested for injuries to rear-seat passengers using a crash dummy that resembles a tiny woman or a 12-year-old child.
According to Harkey, the sap effectively depicts the risk to passengers of all sizes.
Most vehicles received poor or mediocre ratings when the IIHS first instituted the moderate overlap front crash test in 1995.
To make front-seat passengers safer, automakers responded with sturdier constructions and airbags, and all 15 small SUV models used to receive positive reviews.
A car approaches an aluminum barrier at 40 mph in the initial moderate overlap test.
The car’s width strikes the wall on the driver’s side by about 40%.
Some of the SUVs put through testing feature more advanced rear safety belts, but Harkey said timing needs to be adjusted to work better in the milliseconds before and after a crash.
They must now assess whether they fired when it was appropriate. He said, ”
The most popular new cars sold in the United States are small SUVs.
According to Edmunds.com, the combined sales of compact and subcompact SUVs make up 23.4% of all recent vehicle sales this year.
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