|
Big cars, without side airbags, rated "Poor" for side crashes
With cars getting safer, more people in new cars die from side hits than front crashes.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - With better crash safety engineered into passenger vehicles and front airbags now required equipment, side impacts account for more driver deaths than frontal impacts in newer cars, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Today's cars routinely get top scores in front crash tests performed by both the federal government and the private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Some big sedans performed poorly, though, in a recent round of side impact tests by the Institute. The Insurance Institute's side impact test is different from that performed by the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Institute's test is designed to mimic the impact of a pickup or SUV into the side of the car. Because the point of impact is higher on the door, it is virtually impossible for a vehicle to do well in the Institute's side impact test unless it is equipped with airbags designed to protect occupants' heads. When tested without optional side airbags installed, the Ford Five Hundred, Ford Crown Victoria and Chrysler 300 all earned ratings of "Poor" in the Institute's side impact tests. The Ford Five Hundred earned the best possible rating of "Good" and was named a Gold Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for overall crash safety when tested with the side impact airbags installed, however. All crash test results for the Five Hundred also apply to the Mercury Montego, a nearly identical car. Side airbags will be installed as standard equipment on the Five Hundred and Montego beginning in September, Ford has said. Ford also said it is making design changes to better protect occupants of the Crown Victoria and has asked the Institute to test a version of the car with optional side airbags installed. Results from the Institute's tests on the Crown Victoria also apply to the nearly identical Mercury Grand Marquis. The Chrysler 300, with its optional side impact airbags installed, earned only a "Marginal" rating, one better than "Poor," for side impact safety. All crash test results for the Chrysler 300 also apply to the Dodge Charger. The Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Avalon both earned the Institute's top rating of "Good" for side impact safety. Both have standard head-protecting side impact airbags. The Buick Lucerne earned a rating of "Acceptable," the second-best of four possible ratings. Results for the Lucerne also apply to the Cadillac DTS. The Hyundai Azera also earned a rating of "Acceptable." The smaller Buick LaCrosse earned a rating of "Marginal." The Lacrosse's results also apply to the Pontiac Grand Prix. Overall, side impacts are the second most deadly type of crash after frontal impacts. Side impact crashes killed 9,700 people in the year 2004. In new cars from model years later than 2000, 51 percent of driver deaths occur in cars struck from the side compared to 44 percent in cars struck from the front. Results from the most recent round of side impact test on large sedans Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
with standard side airbags
with standard side airbags
with optional head curtain and front torso side airbags
with standard head curtain and front torso side airbags
with standard head curtain airbags and front and rear torso side airbags
with optional head curtain side airbags
with head curtain airbags (may be optional)
without optional side airbags
without optional side airbags Results for cars not included in the most recent round of side impact tests can be found at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Website at iihs.org. (This link will take you to a Website outside of CNN.com. The link will open in a new window.) Results for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash tests can be found at safercar.gov. (This link will take you to a Website outside of CNN.com. The link will open in a new window.) |
|
