Drivers of late-model pickup trucks are likely to find themselves squinting into the darkness or temporarily blinding other drivers, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's latest headlight ratings show.
All four small pickups evaluated are available only with headlights that earn a poor rating. The same goes for 3 out of 7 large pickups. Only one large pickup, the Honda Ridgeline, is available with good-rated headlights, though all but the most expensive trim levels come with poor ones.
Pickups are the third vehicle category to be put through the IIHS headlight evaluations. Midsize cars were the first in March, followed by small SUVs in July.
IIHS launched its headlight ratings after finding that government standards based on laboratory tests allow for huge variation in the amount of illumination headlights provide in on-road driving. In the Institute's evaluations, engineers measure how far light is projected from a vehicle's low beams and high beams as the vehicle travels straight and on curves. Glare from low beams for oncoming drivers also is measured.
The latest booster seat ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that child seat manufacturers have mastered something that once eluded them: building a seat that provides good safety belt fit for the typical 4-¬ to 8-¬year-¬old passenger.
Out of 53 new models evaluated, 48 earn the top rating of BEST BET, meaning they are likely to provide good belt fit for a 4 to 8 year-¬old in almost any car, minivan or SUV. When the Institute first began rating boosters in 2008, only a quarter of the seats evaluated earned the BEST BET designation.
An analysis of trends by Experian, the leading global information services company, shows that mortgage originations have increased by 10 percent from a year ago. More important, a look at the most recent completed quarter shows a 29 percent increase in home purchases from the prior quarter and a decrease in the number of refinances, suggesting a sustained recovery is beginning to come from purchases. These findings and others were part of the quarterly analysis from Experian that examines real-estate trends.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55344-experian-analysis-shows-mortgage-originations-increase-by-10-percent
Crosstex International, a subsidiary of Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE:CMN), and Prestige Ameritech, the only two major U.S.-based medical mask manufacturers have joined forces to bring attention to a glaring void in public health research and policy – that, if addressed, has the potential to more quickly provide a simple, effective tool to mitigate the spread of influenza and other respiratory borne viruses. The awareness campaign comes in response to a new study, “ Exposure to Influenza Virus Aerosols During Routine Patient Care,” published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, showing that influenza viruses may spread as far as six feet from a person coughing or sneezing, and that some people, referred to as “super spreaders,” may be more likely to spread the virus. The study, supported by the Department of Health and Human Services with a $600,000 research grant, pointed specifically to concerns for healthcare workers being exposed to coughs from sick patients. Yet government research and policy continues to overlook face masks as a feasible protection measure for both the healthcare industry and the general public.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/60417-cantel-medical-fitted-mask-infectious-disease-control-public-health-policy
