IIHS & HLDI news: 1997

December 22

Consumers get help in shopping for a safer car: features to look for, other safety information

November 18

Turning off an airbag 'almost never makes sense;' very few drivers or passengers need switches

November 11

Room for improvement before many small 4-door cars provide good protection to their occupants

October 29

New airbag system to protect occupants' heads in side impacts makes impressive crash test showing

October 10

Motor vehicle fatalities in 1996 were 12 percent higher on interstates, freeways in 12 states that raised speed limits

September 18

HLDI: Comparative driver death rates, insurance claims information on hundreds of vehicles show very wide variations in performance

August 27

Saturn fares best among 9 small 4-door cars in low-speed crash tests; one of best performers in 16 years of testing

August 19

Drivers are aware of airbag risks for children and small adults and say they would still buy vehicles with airbags

July 3

Institute counters claims about the "safest" and the "most dangerous" airbags in current vehicle models

June 27

With or without airbags, children are safer when they ride restrained in back

June 18

Two large luxury cars show superior performance in crash test: 1997 BMW 5 series models, Lexus LS 400 lead in crashworthiness

May 8

Lexus and Mercedes rate worst among luxury cars in low-speed bumper tests while domestics Lincoln and Cadillac perform best

April 23

HLDI: SUVs repeat with highest theft losses: worst loss result Is 160 times higher than best; BMW, GM reduce losses with antitheft devices

April 8

Only 5 passenger vehicles out of 200+ evaluated have good head restraint designs; more than half are poor

March 21

Fewer drinking drivers on the road but alcohol-impaired driving still a problem, new national roadside breath-test survey finds

March 13

Latest high-speed crash test results: Nissan Pathfinder, Mitsubishi Montero fall short on occupant protection; no "best pick" among 8 SUVs

January 16

HLDI: Insurance collision losses are highest for sports and luxury cars; passenger vans and station wagons have lowest losses

January 9

Negative publicity about airbags obscuring their benefit; Institute advises against disconnecting airbags except in rare cases

January 7

New crash test results: Toyota Camry earns 'best pick' but Hyundai's Sonata falls short on crash protection