IIHS Grouses About Passenger Safety in Rear Seats

The clang trial dummies astatine the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) person been doing large enactment successful ratcheting up the trouble of their interaction examinations, often requiring automakers to instrumentality to their drafting boards successful hunt of the elusive Top Safety Pick+ designation. Now, the radical is progressively casting an oculus toward however backseat passengers fare successful a wreck.

According to a survey released yesterday by the IIHS, respective fashionable SUVs successful the midsize class connection inadequate beforehand clang extortion for folks perched successful rear seats. These findings were uncovered aft the radical tweaked their longstanding mean overlap beforehand clang trial by installing a 2nd dummy successful the spot down the driver. Although the trial inactive includes a operator dummy, the IIHS is besides present taking announcement of rear rider protection, making that metric a cardinal differentiator of vehicles successful this test.

“All these vehicles supply fantabulous extortion for the driver,” said IIHS President David Harkey, “but lone a fistful widen that level of information to the backmost seat.”

Of a baker’s twelve midsize SUVs tested, lone a quartet - Ford Explorer, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Subaru Ascent, and Tesla Model Y - gain Good ratings.

A trio of others - Chevy Traverse, Toyota Highlander, and Volkswagen Atlas - scored a Marginal ranking portion six much - Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler 4-door, Mazda CX-9, and Nissan Murano - were rated Poor.

At issue? Measurements recorded by sensors successful the second-row dummy, which is sized similar a emblematic 12-year-old youngster, indispensable not bespeak an excessive hazard of wounded to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, oregon thigh. Video footage and greasepaint applied to the dummy’s caput needs to corroborate the restraints prevented its caput from hitting the conveyance interior oregon coming excessively adjacent to the beforehand seatback, portion an oculus is kept connected the dummy’s hazard of “submarining,” which refers to sliding guardant beneath the spot loop successful a crash. I’ve learned a caller connection today.

In vehicles rated Poor, sensors indicated a precocious hazard of caput oregon cervix injuries to the backseat rider successful each but the Wrangler. That model, lacking a broadside curtain airbag successful the rear, was deemed to airs a important hazard for those injuries. In that Jeep, the thigh loop besides moved from its perfect position, from the pelvis to the abdomen.

As for these rigs successful presumption of the mean overlap test’s archetypal criteria for beforehand spot occupants, determination were immoderate unusual findings. In the Traverse, the operator dummy’s caput deed the steering instrumentality hard done the airbag, which is simply a scary notion. And terrifyingly, according to the IIHS report, the driver’s broadside airbag did not deploy astatine each successful the Wrangler.

[Image: IIHS]

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