Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
How Will Your SUV Handle a Crash?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently completed its front, side and rear crash test evaluations of eight small SUV models. If you drive a small SUV, you should know how your vehicle will withstand a serious SUV accident.
Electronic Stability Control in SUVs
Many automakers have started to improve the crashworthiness of their SUV models by including side airbags and electronic stability control. According to a press release by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for the first time, every SUV model tested came equipped with electronic stability control as a standard feature.
Electronic stability control is an important safety device that helps drivers avoid accidents. It engages automatically when it senses vehicle instability and brings the vehicle back into the intended line of travel, which helps prevent loss of control at high speed.
This safety feature performs these actions without the driver's knowledge. Electronic stability control lowers the risk of a fatal single-car accident by almost 50%.
SUV Top Safety Picks Awards
Among the small SUV models evaluated, four vehicles earned the Institute's Top Safety Pick award.
- 2009 Ford Escape,
- 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander,
- 2008 Nissan Rogue, and
- 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan.
All of these vehicles earned good ratings in the Institute's three evaluations and all of them are equipped with standard electronic stability control and side airbags.
“In the latest tests, the Tiguan’s performance is a standout. It sailed through the front and side crash tests without a single downgrade for structure or measures of injury likelihood recorded on the dummy. This is 1 of 4 models in this group that afford superior crash protection in their class. This is a huge change from just 5 years ago when most small SUVs were rated either marginal or poor in our side test, and standard side airbags and electronic stability control were rare,” said Institute president Adrian Lund.
Frontal Crash Test Results
Almost every SUV model evaluated by the Institute performed well in frontal crash tests. The frontal crash test is based on the results of a 40 mph frontal crash.
Each vehicle is then evaluated based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injuries sustained from the accident on a dummy, and an analysis of how well the restraint system controlled the dummy's movement during the impact.
Side crash tests are evaluated based on the performance of the vehicle when it is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier is designed to represent the front end of a pickup or SUV.
Rear crash tests are rated based on the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man.
If you have been injured in a side impact crash, rear-end collision or head-on accident involving a sports utility vehicle in Massachusetts, contact the experienced Boston SUV accident attorneys at Kiley Law Group today at for legal advice. We will help you recover compensation for your auto accident case.
Free Consultations: 1-888-208-1695.
