Installing child restraints can frustrate even the most capable of parents. A system called Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children is supposed to make things easier by standardizing attachment hardware, but a new study shows that many automakers aren’t paying attention to the key factors that make LATCH work. Only 21 of the 98 top-selling 2010-11 model passenger vehicles evaluated have LATCH designs that are easy to use. This is the main finding of joint research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
According to the United Nations, worldwide nearly 1.3 million lives are lost in traffic accidents each year and this number could rise to nearly 1.9 million in the next 10 years. Furthermore, estimates show that nearly 90 percent of all crashes are caused by driver error, making advanced safety systems an important focus for automakers and governing agencies. Bosch offers active and passive safety technologies, as well as driver assistance functions that can help reduce the number of accidents and save lives.
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The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf earn the highest safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the first-ever U.S. crash test evaluations of plug-in electric cars. The milestone demonstrates that automakers are using the same safety engineering in new electric cars as they do in gasoline-powered vehicles.
The Volt and Leaf earn the top rating of good for front, side, rear, and rollover crash protection. With standard electronic stability control, they qualify as winners of TOP SAFETY PICK, the Institute’s award for state-of-the-art crash protection. The ratings help consumers pick vehicles that offer a higher level of protection than federal safety standards require.
These materials are already known for their use in race cars and other lightweight vehicles: Carbon fiber or other high-tech plastics. Light, stable and economical. Now, especially in the context of energy consumption automakers are losing their fear of man made materials - formerly known as
