Hybrids have a safety edge over their conventional twins when it comes to shielding their occupants from injuries in crashes, new research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, shows. On average, the odds of being injured in a crash are 25 percent lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models.
The new finding is more good news for green-minded drivers who don’t want to trade safety for fuel economy. Not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel-efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter. Now, consumers have more options than ever when it comes to picking an environmentally friendly — and crashworthy — vehicle.
For more information, go to: www.iihs.org
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the launch of new public service announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness about the importance of choosing the right child safety seat and making sure it is installed properly. The ads, released in partnership with the Ad Council, promote car seat safety among parents of children up to age 12. Data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show an estimated 8,959 lives were saved by child restraint systems from 1975 to 2008.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55319-nhtsa-launches-new-psas-about-car-seat-recommendations-for-children
Sixty percent of young adult drivers (16-24) said they have texted while driving, according to a national survey released by the Ad Council. To educate young adult drivers about the dangers of texting while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the State Attorneys General and Consumer Protection Agencies, and the Ad Council today revealed new public service advertisements (PSAs) featuring NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne®. The new PSAs are being unveiled today to coincide with the first nationwide Stop the Texts Day, and the start of National Youth Traffic Safety Month.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55966-NASCAR-driver-Kasey-Kahne-and-the-Ad-Council-prevent-texting-and-driving
18 Teams, die sich in ihren Heimatländern bereits mit einem leichten Gasfuß als beste Spritsparer durchgesetzt hatten, fuhren jetzt an der Westküste der USA um den Word-Champion-Titel. Genau 647 Kilometer quer durch Kalifornien auf einem Kurs mit unterschiedlichem Streckenprofil. Von Stadtdurchfahrten bis hin zum kurvigen Pacific Coast Highway war alles dabei. Die Teilnehmer starteten mit identischen VW Jetta Hybrid. Eine ideale Voraussetzung für beeindruckende Verbrauchsergebnisse möchte man meinen, gehört das Fahrzeug von Hause aus doch zu den sparsamsten Autos. Gewinnen konnte jedoch nur, wer das Potenzial der Hybridtechnik für sich auch zu nutzen wusste und möglichst viele Kilometer mit elektrischer Zuarbeit zurücklegte.
A group of moderately priced midsize cars outperformed most of their luxury counterparts in a challenging new frontal crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on 2013 models. Of the 18 midsize family cars evaluated in the small overlap test, two earn the top rating of good, 11 earn acceptable, three earn marginal, and two are poor.
In contrast, just 3 of 11 midsize luxury and near-luxury cars evaluated in the inaugural round of small overlap tests earned good or acceptable ratings. Midsize moderately priced cars are the second group to be tested. The best performers in this group are the Honda Accord 4-door and Suzuki Kizashi. Both earn a good rating.
Modern semitrailers for the most part do a good job of keeping passenger vehicles from sliding underneath them, greatly increasing the chances of surviving a crash into the back of a large truck, recent tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) show. But in crashes involving only a small portion of the truck’s rear, most trailers fail to prevent potentially deadly underride.
Earlier research showed that the minimum strength and dimensions required for underride guards are inadequate, prompting the Institute to petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2011 for tougher standards. The Institute also asked the agency to consider applying the standards to other types of large trucks, such as dump trucks that aren’t required to have any underride guards.
The 2014 Subaru Forester is the first vehicle to ace every aspect of the challenging small overlap front crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Forester, the only 1 of 13 small SUVs to earn an overall rating of good in the test, and the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which earns acceptable, are the latest vehicles to qualify for the Institute’s recently inaugurated top honor, TOP SAFETY PICK+. Each of the other 11 SUVs earns either a poor or marginal rating.
The latest small overlap front crash test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reveal a range of performance among many of the best-selling small cars in the U.S. market. Of the 12 models evaluated, half earn a good or acceptable rating and qualify for the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.
The 2-door and 4-door models of the Honda Civic are the only small cars to earn the top rating of good in the test. IIHS evaluated the Civics earlier this year and released the results in March. The Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and 2014 model Scion tC earn acceptable ratings.
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.
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 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.
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.
