Addressing the Side Crash Fatality Rate
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced its plans to introduce a more stringent side crash test. The reasoning behind creating a tougher test is because side crashes at higher speeds continue to cause fatal injuries. Implementing the test on 2020-21 model year vehicles, only one out of twenty small sport utility vehicles (SUVs) earned a good rating – the Mazda CX-5.
The agency suspected that there was room for improvement in the category, and their preliminary tests confirmed that the Mazda CX-5 achieved a good rating shows that significant protection in a severe side crash is possible.
Results From the Updated Test
Nine of the tested vehicles earned acceptable ratings in the tougher side crash test:
- Audi Q3
- Chevrolet Trax
- Buick Encore
- Nissan Rogue
- Honda CR-V
- Toyota RAV4
- Subaru Forester
- Volvo XC40
- Toyota Venza
Eight vehicles earned marginal ratings:
- Ford Escape
- Chevrolet Equinox
- GMC Terrain
- Jeep Compass
- Hyundai Tucson
- Kia Sportage
- Jeep Renegade
- Lincoln Corsair
Two vehicles earned poor ratings – the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and the Honda HR-V.
Only the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross was a 2020 model because the automaker did not produce that model in 2021. The rest of the tested vehicles were of the 2021 model year.
Results Were Not Unexpected
A research engineer for IIHS points out that the results are not great, but that is not an unexpected outcome whenever the agency adopts a more stringent test.
Watch the YouTube video. IIHS uploaded a video discussing the stricter side crash standards.
More Stringent Testing Works
All 20 of the vehicles that were tested had earned good ratings in the prior iteration of side testing. Nearly all current vehicles now earn a good rating in that first-generation test, but that hasn’t always been true. In 2003, when the original test was introduced, only around one in five models achieved a good rating.
Progress Saves Lives
A study in 2011 looked at ten years of crash data and discovered that a driver in a vehicle that had earned a good side crash rating was 70 percent more likely to survive a left-side crash than a driver in a vehicle that had earned a poor rating. Even so, side impacts continue to account for around 23 percent of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities each year. The IIHS is looking to improve on that statistic with its updated test standards.
Reasons for Poor Ratings
The vehicles that earned marginal and poor ratings on the new side crash test largely had structural issues. However, there was no single identifiable reason why side crashes still result in a high number of fatalities. It is hoped that the new crash test data can provide a roadmap that will point to specific life-saving improvements that can be made.
Timeline for the New Side Crash Criteria
Results from the first-generation side crash test will remain the criteria a vehicle must meet to be rated a TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ until 2023 when the award criteria will be updated. Until then, the results for the original test and the updated test will be published together. The sooner automakers can improve their vehicles to meet the new standards, the better.
Fairfield Car Accident Lawyer
Thanks for reading our report on the new standards for side crash testing that will be implemented by the IIHS. I’m Ed Smith, a Fairfield car accident lawyer. Fatal car crashes, unfortunately, occur every day on California highways. We support all efforts to bring the number of such tragedies down. If you have been injured in an automobile accident that was the result of another motorist’s carelessness or recklessness, call our injury attorneys for free and friendly advice at (707) 564-1900. We also provide a toll-free line for those who may be calling from outside the local area code: (800) 404-5400.
Photo by Scott Graham via Unsplash
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