Posted on 04/19/2004 1:12:50 PM PDT by traumer
Most midsize family sedans failed a new test by the insurance industry designed to see how well the cars would stand up to a side-impact crash with a pickup or SUV.
Safety experts are concerned about the side impact of a larger pickup or SUV crashes into midsize cars.
Twelve of fifteen sedans failed the new test, which involves a barrier shaped like the front end of an SUV "T-boning" the side of the vehicle at a 90-degree angle going 31 miles per hour.
The test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety comes at a time when federal regulators are developing a side-impact test similar to IIHS', and the auto industry, under pressure, has agreed to design changes for pickups and SUVs that should make them less lethal in crashes with cars by 2008.
The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, equipped with optional head- and torso-protecting air bags, were the only vehicles to earn "good" ratings, which means occupants would likely not suffer serious injuries. The Chevy Malibu, tested with optional head protection air bags, scored "acceptable," because its air bag system would likely result in torso injury, though not serious head injury.
Twelve models, including the Accord, Camry and Malibu without their optional air bags, scored "poor." Three of the models that failed — the Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima and Saturn LS — failed despite having side air bags.
Those results indicate that even side-impact and head-curtain air bags won't always protect people in midsize cars hit at modest speed by a big pickup or sport-utility vehicle.
The air bag combination standard in the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima protected the head, but not the torso, IIHS says.
The Saturn's side-curtain head air bag didn't come down far enough to protect the crash test dummies, IIHS says.
Results of the IIHS crash tests, to be announced today, used crash-test dummies the size of a 12-year-old, to predict injury to children and short adults.
GM spokesman Jim Schell says the newer-design Malibu outperforming the older-design Saturn shows that GM is improving. GM plans to have head-protection air bags in all vehicles by 2009.
IIHS President Brian O'Neill says he hopes the new side-impact tests drive automakers to make improvements to auto designs to improve side-impact safety similar to the way IIHS' front-crash tests have helped drive safety improvements.
The driver death rate in side crashes had declined 24% in 20 years, but the rate in front crashes has dropped more: 52%, IIHS says.
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.com ...
So, the evil SUVs and pickups must be modified because they are dangerous to innocent little cars.
The driver death rate in side crashes had declined 24% in 20 years, but the rate in front crashes has dropped more: 52%, IIHS says.
So, 20 years ago the evil SUVs and pickups must have been even more lethal, no?
They are building all vehicles safer than before but that is not good enough for the SUVs are evil crowd. There are a lot more SUVs and pickups on the road than there were 20 years ago yet fewer drivers are being killed in crashes. So, why do they need to be modified to make them less lethal?
Maybe they're building safer vehicles, but they're licensing more dangerous drivers.And the unlicensed ones (aka illegal immigrants) is an open question. Some may drive slow and safe to avoid getting checked, but others may be reckless because they can cut and run with nothing to lose.
I would suspect that a side impact with any car going 30 miles per hour would result in a failed test.
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