New Vehicle Crash Test Results Published: August 6, 2006

The Institute For Highway Safety recently released its latest crash test results after evaluating four cars and two small SUVs which updated results the Institute published earlier this year. The study showed although manufactures have improved somewhat in the areas of front and side crashes, most still fall well below the desired standards for crashes that occur from behind. The vehicles tested included: 2007 Dodge Caliber, 2006 Kia Optima, 2007 Toyota Camry, 2006 Lincoln Zehyr and the 2006 Hyundai Tucsan.

According to iihs.org:

“Results show that automakers are moving quickly to improve side impact protection,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “They’re responding to our crash test by making side airbags with head protection standard in more models.”

“Now it’s the norm for vehicles to earn good ratings in the frontal test, and performance in the side test is rapidly improving,” Lund says. “But protection against neck injury in rear-end crashes still needs a lot of work. Front and side crashes usually are more serious, but rear impacts are more common and the neck injuries that result can be debilitating. This is the most common injury reported in motor vehicle crashes.”

This study shows why so many Americans still suffer from such severe whiplash related injuries. The institute is trying to encourage manufactures nationwide to address this critical area of safety. Generally manufactures are slow to address areas of safety concern until studies like this are brought to the public’s attention. Maybe this most recent study concerning rear-end crashes will motivate manufactures to focus on this area of safety in the near future.