IIHS plans to conduct crash tests at higher speeds

Endless movement back and forth automakers and security rating agencies going to take another step forward. The Insurance Institute for Road Safety (IIHS) announced this week that it is considering increasing speeds when conducting front and rear crash tests.

The culprits are car companies that have just too well-handled the current IIHS test mode, which uses the front-end vehicle accident prevention test that was introduced in 2013. This test simulates what happens when a car crashes into another car that has stopped on the road. .

IIHS conducts two tests in this format: one at 12 mph and the other at 25 mph. Beginning with the 2014 model year, IIHS requires cars to receive a Basic, Advanced or Superior rating to earn the Top Safety Pick + honor.

In the 2022 model year, 85 percent of all IIHS vehicles tested reached this level, mainly because automakers were busy adding automatic emergency braking systems (AEB). on their vehicles, part of voluntary commitments made with the IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). IIHS reported that last year, 12 major car manufacturers equipped AEB with almost all of their cars – ahead of the September 2022 deadline.

“The automaker’s commitment to establish AEB as standard equipment will take effect later this year, and the requirements for meeting that commitment are based on our ongoing tests,” said IIHS Media Relations Director Joe Young. The car and driver. “Essentially, commitment makes the current test obsolete. Commitment is a big win for consumers who won’t need to buy a particular finish line or package to get this proven safety technology on their next new car. And a new test, if launched, will help advance the technology even further. ”

So, if everyone is already taking the test, how do you know which cars deserve the best rating? You test for front and rear collisions at higher speeds. Young said IIHS will begin investigating different testing speeds this summer to find out the exact rules of the new test. The time it will take to define the new protocols means that the upgraded ratings to prevent front-end accidents will not be taken into account in the group’s major security elections in 2023.

IIHS researchers found that only 3 percent of rear-end accidents for which they received police reports occurred at the low speeds considered in today’s test (up to 25 miles per hour). Increasing the test speed to 35 to 45 miles per hour would correspond to the speed in the real world where more accidents occur. According to the IIHS, the speed limit of 45 miles per hour will cover 43 percent of rear-end accidents reported by police and 12 percent of fatal crashes in the back.

Young said updating this vehicle crash test is similar to how IIHS recently updated its side crash test.

“We were at a point where the current side-by-side crash test didn’t differ among the current models, so we’ve raised the bar and we see a wide range of performance in the new test,” he said. “We expect that when we update the front-end test to prevent accidents from car to vehicle, we will see a similar range of performance that will give automakers an incentive to improve their systems. It will also give consumers important information when comparing vehicles.”

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