Parking crashes usually don’t result in serious injuries, but repair costs can quickly mount, along with the hassle of going without the family vehicle while waiting for the body shop to finish work. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has launched a rear crash prevention ratings program to help consumers identify models with the technology that can prevent or mitigate low-speed backing crashes. Two systems earn the highest rating of superior, and four earn the second-highest rating of advanced.
Rear crash prevention encompasses several technologies. Parking sensors issue warning beeps and/or seat vibrations when the equipped vehicle gets too close to another vehicle or object directly behind it, or, in some cases, in front of it. Rear cross-traffic alert warns drivers of approaching vehicles that might cross their path as they back up. Rear automatic emergency braking systems detect objects behind a reversing vehicle and may automatically brake if the driver doesn’t heed alerts to stop.
IIHS engineers evaluated rear autobrake systems on six popular 2017 model vehicles — the BMW 5 series sedan, Cadillac XT5 SUV, Infiniti QX60 SUV, Jeep Cherokee SUV, Subaru Outback wagon and Toyota Prius hatchback.
Under the three-tier rating scheme, models with optional or standard rear crash prevention systems are rated superior, advanced or basic. Ratings are determined by whether the vehicles have available rear autobrake and, if so, how it performs in a series of car-to-car and car-to-pole tests with different approach angles. The availability of parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert also is factored in.
The Outback and XT5 earn a superior rating when equipped with optional rear autobrake, parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert. The Cherokee, 5 series, QX60 and Prius earn an advanced rating with this optional gear.
Boosters are better than they used to be at fitting lap and shoulder belts on 4 to 8-year-old kids to restrain them in a crash - so parents don\'t have to search as hard for a good fit for their child and vehicle. Most belt-positioning boosters, though, don\'t offer consistently good fit in all vehicles. This is the bottom line in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety\'s third round of booster evaluations.
Researchers assessed the safety belt fit of 72 boosters, assigning the best ones the top ratings of BEST BET or GOOD BET because they correctly position belts on average booster-age kids in most vehicles. The worst performers are ones the Institute doesn\'t recommend because they do a poor job of fitting belts. A good booster routes the lap belt across a child\'s upper thighs and positions the shoulder belt at midshoulder.
Only 3 vehicles of more than 100 evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have child restraint installation hardware that earns a good rating for ease of use, while more than half have hardware that is poor or marginal.
The Institute's new LATCH ratings will serve as a resource for families looking for a vehicle that makes it easy to transport their children safely. They also are intended to encourage vehicle manufacturers to pay attention to this equipment and make improvements. Properly installed, age-appropriate child restraints provide considerably more protection for children in crashes than safety belts alone. However, observational studies have found that parents and caregivers often fail to secure them tightly or make other installation mistakes.
LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, is intended to make it easier to install a child seat properly. It works: Child restraints installed with LATCH, rather than with vehicle safety belts, are more likely to be installed correctly, research has shown. But in many vehicles, LATCH hardware could be better. Parents are more likely to install the seat correctly when the LATCH hardware meets certain key ease-of-use criteria.
A new test program by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the performance of front crash prevention systems to help consumers decide which features to consider and encourage automakers to speed adoption of the technology. The rating system is based on research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) indicating that forward collision warning and automatic braking systems are helping drivers avoid front-to-rear crashes.
Drivers of vehicles with good small overlap front ratings from the Insurance Institute from Highway Safety can expect to be protected well in a frontal crash involving the left corner of the vehicle. But how would the passengers sitting next to them fare in a right-side small overlap crash? A new study shows that good protection doesn’t always extend across the front seat.
The Institute conducted 40 mph passenger-side small overlap tests on seven small SUVs with good driver-side small overlap ratings. Only one of the vehicles, the 2016 Hyundai Tucson, performed at a level corresponding to a good rating, and the others ran the gamut from poor to acceptable.
The results have prompted IIHS to consider instituting a passenger-side rating as part of its TOP SAFETY PICK criteria.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7856251-ad-council-embrace-refugees/
The list of winners of the Institute's TOP SAFETY PICK award is longer than ever this year, with vehicles in nearly every size category the Institute evaluates earning accolades. From minicars to sedans to pickups, consumers have a record number of choices among 2012 models.
In all, 69 cars, 38 SUVs, 5 minivans, and 3 pickups earn TOP SAFETY PICK. The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on ratings in Institute evaluations. The ratings, which cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes, help shoppers pick vehicles that offer the highest levels of crash protection. Because the federal government now requires all 2012 and later passenger vehicles to have electronic stability control to help drivers avoid loss-of-control crashes, ESC no longer is a requirement to win as it was in prior years.
The winners’ circle includes 18 new recipients for 2012, while 97 models that previously qualified for the 2011 award carry over to 2012.
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Everyone hates bed bugs in their Kent homes and businesses. But who you choose as a exterminator can have a huge effect on recurring infestations. The specialists here at Pest Exterminators Kent have made this brand new helpful video on ways the team can support you when experiencing a serious bed bug problem. Our team have a huge assortment of pest treatments to suit your needs, including effective heat treatments. Many of our techniques could be tailored to suit you, your home or business property and your unique case.
Lightning may not seem as destructive as other natural disasters, yet a strike can cause serious damage to business equipment and electrical appliances, disrupt electrical service for long periods of time, and spark wildfires. In 2014, State Farm paid nearly $149 million dollars for insurance claims as a result of damage from lightning strikes.
June, July, and August are the times of year when lightning is most frequent. Even though lightning is weather-related and not a preventable event, there are ways to reduce your chance of damage from a power surge or fire. That is why State Farm has joined forces with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) in recognition of Lightning Awareness Week, June 21-27.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7452831-state-farm-weather-preparedness/
Following a long winter, most people are excited to get outside and enjoy the warm temperatures that accompany the spring season. In an ironic twist, the warm temperature brings an increased risk of ice balls falling from the sky in the form of hail. Damage to homes and cars as a result of hail cost State Farm policyholders more than $2.4 billion in 2014. Hail is one of the most frequent causes of property damage. While hail storms most frequently impact the Great Plains and Midwest, every state in the nation is susceptible.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7452831-state-farm-weather-preparedness/
The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today announced the grand opening of its multi-risk research center in Chester County, S.C.
The state-of-the-art, multi-hazard applied research and training facility will significantly advance building science by enabling researchers to more fully and accurately evaluate various residential and commercial construction materials and systems. The facility is entirely funded by the property insurance industry.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/ibhs/45568/
Hybrids have a safety edge over their conventional twins when it comes to shielding their occupants from injuries in crashes, new research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, shows. On average, the odds of being injured in a crash are 25 percent lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models.
The new finding is more good news for green-minded drivers who don’t want to trade safety for fuel economy. Not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel-efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter. Now, consumers have more options than ever when it comes to picking an environmentally friendly — and crashworthy — vehicle.
For more information, go to: www.iihs.org
Flooded vehicles have finally stopped arriving at the Royal Purple Raceway east of Houston. Some 23,000 now await processing and retitling to be auctioned off for parts or to be scrapped. That is just one of several insurance industry salvage locations where more than 422,000 insured vehicles damaged by Harvey have been taken for processing. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), these totals surpass the number of claims that resulted from Hurricane Katrina (approx. 300,000) and from Superstorm Sandy (250,500).
In addition, more than 215,000 claims have been filed following damage to vehicles from Hurricane Irma in Florida.
These insured vehicles will be processed and rebranded with a salvage title and sold at online auctions to dismantlers who will save usable parts or have the vehicle crushed and sold for scrap.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/76652512-nicb-reports-record-number-of-hurricane-flooded-vehicles/
