As Child Passenger Safety Week wraps up, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is launching a new Car Seat Finder Tool, adding the ability to look up car seat recalls on its mobile app, and reminding parents and caregivers to register their child's car seat through its new campaign – “Don't Delay. Register Your Car Seat Today.” Every 34 seconds, a child under the age of 13 is involved in a crash and more than a third of children killed in crashes were not in car seats or wearing seat belts. NHTSA's new Car Seat Finder Tool is aimed at helping parents select the right car seat or booster seat for their child, while the campaign reminds everyone of the importance of registering car seats to receive important safety recall notifications.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7310151-ad-council-nhtsa-child-passenger-safety-2014/
The Mini Cooper Countryman is the only small car to earn a good rating among the latest group of 12 small cars subjected to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap front crash test.
Two electric models and a hybrid are in the mix, with varied results. The electric-powered Chevrolet Volt (with a gasoline engine “range extender”) earns an acceptable rating, while its battery-electric rival, the Nissan Leaf, earns a poor rating. The Ford C-Max Hybrid, a small four-door wagon, earns an acceptable rating. Another small four-door wagon, the gasoline-powered Mazda 5, is rated poor.
Volvo Cars’ all-new XC90 – which will be revealed in August – will offer the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package available in the automotive industry. The new technologies will take the company a significant step closer to its vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by 2020.
The XC90 is the first car in the world with technology that features automatic braking if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on highways, where the speed limits are higher. The all-new Volvo XC90 detects a potential crash and brakes automatically in order to avoid a collision or mitigate the consequences of a crash.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/71400582-all-new-volvo-XC90-safest-car
Less than a year into a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ratings program for front crash prevention, auto manufacturers are making strides in adopting the most beneficial systems with automatic braking capabilities and are offering the features on a wider variety of models. Twenty-one of 24 cars and SUVs, all 2014 models unless noted, earn an advanced or higher rating in the latest round of IIHS evaluations.
The Chevrolet Equinox and its twin, the GMC Terrain, are the only midsize SUVs out of nine evaluated to earn a good rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap front crash test, which continues to challenge manufacturers more than a year and a half after its introduction.
The Equinox and the Terrain qualify for the Institute’s highest award for 2014, TOP SAFETY PICK+. The Toyota Highlander, a midsize SUV whose acceptable small overlap rating was announced in December, also qualifies. The award is given to vehicles with a good or acceptable small overlap rating, good ratings in four other occupant protection tests, and a rating of basic or higher for front crash prevention.
Three other midsize SUVs in the test group rate poor for small overlap protection, and three are marginal.
Only 1 minicar out of 11 tested achieves an acceptable rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small overlap front crash test, making these tiny vehicles the worst performing group of any evaluated so far.
The Chevrolet Spark's acceptable rating in the test, along with good ratings in the Institute's four other crashworthiness evaluations, earns the new minicar a 2014 TOP SAFETY PICK award. The Spark was among the initial award winners announced in December. The new small overlap test results for the rest of the minicar group mean that no other models in this size category join the Spark in the winner's circle yet.
Twenty-two vehicles earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's highest safety award for 2014, TOP SAFETY PICK+, thanks to a high level of protection in crashes and the availability of front crash prevention technology to avoid many collisions in the first place. An additional 17 earn TOP SAFETY PICK by meeting the crashworthiness criteria alone.
IIHS is using new criteria for the awards this year. TOP SAFETY PICK requires good performance in the Institute's moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and, for the first time, good or acceptable performance in the small overlap front test introduced in 2012. The same level of performance in those tests, along with at least a basic rating for front crash prevention, is required for the higher accolade, TOP SAFETY PICK+.
The elegant design possibilities are the most visually evident – but far from the only – advantages of Volvo Car Group’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA).
The ingenious new architecture also enables the company to reinforce its safety leadership and increase its momentum towards the aim that by 2020, no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64160-volvo-car-crash-free-future
Child restraint manufacturers continue to roll out new booster seats that do a good job of improving the way an adult safety belt fits a typical booster-age child. This year, 19 of 31 new models evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earn the top rating of BEST BET, and one model is a GOOD BET.
The Institute began rating boosters five years ago because research indicated that most seats weren’t doing a good job of fitting safety belts correctly and consistently on children in a variety of vehicles. Boosters earn a rating of BEST BET, GOOD BET, Check Fit or Not Recommended, based on a protocol that involves measuring how three-point lap and shoulder belts fit a child-size test dummy seated in the booster on a stationary test fixture under four conditions that span the range of safety belt configurations in passenger vehicles. The evaluations focus on safety belt fit and don’t involve crash tests.
It may seem a little premature to be thinking about Christmas, but with temperatures beginning to drop, our thoughts turn towards the festive season. For many, these contemplations include charitable acts like offering to help serve Christmas dinner to homeless men and women or supporting an initiative which gives rough sleepers a roof over their heads throughout the Christmas period.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/62437-crash-no-christmas-card-appeal-2013
A new test program by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the performance of front crash prevention systems to help consumers decide which features to consider and encourage automakers to speed adoption of the technology. The rating system is based on research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) indicating that forward collision warning and automatic braking systems are helping drivers avoid front-to-rear crashes.
