IIHS & HLDI news: 2013

A new web video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety explains the Institute's ratings of booster seats for children. "Inside IIHS: Rating booster seats" shows how engineers measure the fit of different types of vehicle safety belts on a child-size dummy seated on each booster being evaluated. The video reviews which children need to use booster seats and how parents can tell whether a booster is doing its job.

The video is available on the IIHS YouTube channel and is part of the "Inside IIHS" series. Previous installments have focused on crash test dummies, frontal crash testing, roof strength testing, rear testing and the propulsion system used to power crash tests.

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The latest web video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduces viewers to the components of the crash propulsion system, housed in the basement of the Vehicle Research Center. "Inside IIHS: The crash propulsion system" provides a rare glimpse of the hidden machinery that powers the cables that pull a vehicle toward another vehicle or a barrier for a crash test.

The video is available on the IIHS YouTube channel and is part of the "Inside IIHS" series. Previous installments have focused on crash test dummies, frontal crash testing, roof strength testing and rear testing.

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Motorcycles with antilock braking systems (ABS) are 31 percent less likely to be involved in fatal crashes than those same motorcycles without ABS, a recent analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows.

Meanwhile, a new study from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows a 20 percent reduction in the rate of collision claims with ABS and a 28 percent reduction in the frequency of claims for rider injuries. HLDI analysts found that ABS had an even bigger effect in conjunction with combined braking systems, which integrate a motorcycle's front and rear brake controls. The two technologies together reduced collision claim frequency by about a third.

IIHS and HLDI first reported significant reductions in crashes and fatalities with motorcycle ABS in 2008 and again in 2010. The findings prompted IIHS to urge the government to make ABS mandatory on all motorcycles. Now that several more years' worth of data are confirming the benefits, IIHS and HLDI are formally petitioning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for an ABS requirement.

"The data continue to accumulate in support of motorcycle ABS five years after we first reported on its effectiveness," says Adrian Lund, president of both IIHS and HLDI. "We hope NHTSA will agree that it's time to take action to ensure all riders get the benefit of this lifesaving technology."

Read the IIHS and HLDI petition.

Read more about the new research on motorcycle ABS in the May 30, 2013, issue of Status Report.

BioRID, a specialized dummy for rear crash testing, stars in the latest web video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Inside IIHS: Rear testing for whiplash prevention" shows viewers how rear crashes are simulated to evaluate vehicle seats for their ability to prevent whiplash prevention. The BioRID dummy, which has a spine with vertebrae just like a person's, is seated in the vehicle seat during a simulated crash. The motions of the dummy's head, neck and torso are similar to how a person would move in a real-life crash and show the likelihood of neck injury.

The video is available on the IIHS YouTube channel and is part of the "Inside IIHS" series. Earlier installments focused on crash test dummies, frontal crash testing and roof strength testing.

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A new web video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows how engineers use a special machine to crush vehicle roofs in order to measure their strength. "Inside IIHS: Measuring roof strength" also explains how strong roofs help preserve occupant space and prevent people from being ejected during rollover crashes.

The video is available on the IIHS YouTube channel and is the third in the "Inside IIHS" series. The first two focused on crash test dummies and frontal crash testing.

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The latest installment in a series of web videos from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety explores the ins and outs of frontal crash testing. "Inside IIHS: Frontal offset testing" explains the differences between the Institute's two frontal crash tests and demonstrates how structural performance, dummy injury measures and restraint systems affect a vehicle's frontal rating.

The video is available on the IIHS YouTube channel and is the second in the "Inside IIHS" series. The first video focused on crash test dummies.

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A new series of web videos provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the work of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Vehicle Research Center. In "Inside IIHS," engineers explain the Institute's test programs and highlight some of the equipment they use in their research.

The first video, "Inside IIHS: Crash test dummies at work," is available on the IIHS YouTube channel beginning today. Learn what kind of dummies IIHS uses and how they help engineers evaluate vehicle crashworthiness.

More videos in this series will be uploaded weekly starting Tuesday, May 21.

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The Toyota RAV4, a small SUV, earns the Top Safety Pick award for good performance in the Institute's moderate overlap front, side, rollover and rear evaluations.

Toyota redesigned the RAV4 for 2013. One notable change is that the automaker improved the RAV4's roof structure to earn a good rating for rollover protection.

In the roof strength test, the new model's roof withstood a force equal to 5 times the SUV's weight. The previous generation RAV4, manufactured from 2006 to 2012, had a strength-to-weight ratio of 3.46, which equates to an acceptable rating.

Five vehicles earn the Institute's top safety award based on their performance in the new small overlap front crash test.

The Honda Civic 2-door and 4-door, both small cars, and the Volvo XC60, a midsize luxury SUV, all earned good ratings for small overlap protection. The Lincoln MKZ, a midsize luxury car, and the Mazda 6, a midsize moderately priced car, both received an acceptable rating. All are 2013 models except the Mazda 6, which is redesigned for 2014.

The vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick+ award because they received good ratings in the Institute's moderate overlap front, side, rollover and rear tests, plus good or acceptable ratings in the new small overlap test. The small overlap test is designed to replicate what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or object like a tree or utility pole.

The Honda Civic, the first small car to earn the Top Safety Pick+ award, received significant front structure upgrades to improve small overlap performance, and engineers at Volvo updated the airbag algorithm to deploy the side curtain airbag in the small overlap test.

The Subaru Forester, a small SUV, earns the IIHS Top Safety Pick designation. Top Safety Pick recognizes vehicles that earn good ratings in four Institute crash tests: moderate overlap front, side, rollover and rear.

Redesigned for the 2014 model year, the Subaru Forester joins the previous generation model as a Top Safety Pick award winner.

The Institute will release results for small SUVs in the new small overlap frontal crash test in the spring.