Vehicle safety standards have continually increased over recent decades, as the government and automakers cooperate on making the cars we love to drive safer for both drivers and passengers. Car manufacturers understand that safety is also a big selling point with customers. This is particularly true when a manufacturer can point to one or more safety achievement awards or recognitions by an authority in the industry.
One of these authorities – the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – is continually evaluating vehicle safety issues. As the Institute reveals its top safety choices for 2018, it is also raising the bar for vehicle manufacturers with more difficult criteria for these manufacturers to meet in order to gain special safety achievement recognition. The purpose of this enhanced test criteria is to help prevent car crashes that injure and kill people, and also ensure that vehicles can protect occupants in the event of a crash.
Higher standards slash safety picks
The Institute’s safety picks for 2018 consist of about half the number of vehicle models receiving the esteemed designation as an IIHS Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick Plus as compared to 2017. Due to the changes IIHS made in its safety criteria, the number of designations dropped to 62 vehicles in 2018, from 120 vehicles in 2017.
The IIHS has used crash tests for many years as part of its vehicle safety evaluation process to determine how well drivers are protected in the event of a crash. This year the Institute added tests to evaluate the safety of passengers when a crash occurs. Two of the tests added to the Institute’s playbook for safety were a collision test to evaluate how well front passengers are protected and a more stringent headlight effectiveness test.
As IIHS President Adrian Lund explains about the Institute’s recent history of front crash tests, “We’ve been doing small overlap frontal crash tests on the driver’s side since 2012 and we’ve seen a lot of improvement on that side, but we weren’t seeing that kind of improvement for passengers.”
They developed the passenger side crash test, Lund says, “after it became clear that some manufacturers weren’t paying enough attention to passenger side protection.”
Headlamps a focal point
As briefly mentioned above, the IIHS has raised its standards with regard to headlights and how effectively they light up the road for the driver.
Regarding the capability of headlamps to light up the road, Lund states that “many of them aren’t doing a very good job. The difference between a headlamp that rates as ‘good’ as far as how far down the road you can see, and one that we rate as ‘poor,’ literally is night and day.”
Due to the fact that many serious car accidents occur after dark when visibility is reduced, the IIHS, according to Lund believes “it’s important that manufacturers improve how lamps light up the road.”
Passenger-side small overlap front crash test
The new passenger-side small overlap front crash test added by IIHS this year simulates what occurs when a vehicle veers off the road and impacts a utility pole or tree. In order to qualify for the coveted designation of Top Safety Pick Plus, a vehicle must receive a Good or Acceptable rating from the Institute.
Auto braking
The ability of auto braking to prevent a crash is another safety feature that is included in IIHS’s series of safety tests. Lund said, “All automakers have pledged to make auto braking standard equipment on their vehicles by 2022.”
The IIHS’s Top Safety Pick award for 2018 was earned by 15 vehicles. These include a number of Hyundai’s Genesis and Kia models, as well as other models by Ford, Subaru, Toyota, and Mercedes Benz.
Suffering a severe injury in a car crash can add complications and unexpected medical expenses to your life. However, an adept and experienced car accident attorney serving Sevierville, Seymour, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge can help you obtain the compensation you deserve. At Delius & McKenzie, PLLC, we have the experience, resources, and skills to fight effectively for an outcome that will help you recover from your losses. Call today at 865-428-8780, or fill out our contact form to arrange a free, initial consultation.
Attorney Bryan E. Delius was born and raised in Sevier County, TN. He founded Delius & McKenzie more than 20 years ago, after receiving his JD from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He is admitted in Tennessee and in several federal court systems. Learn more about Bryan E. Delius.
