For rear-seat passengers, even the safest small car isn’t as safe as it could be. In a new round of safety tests, just two small sedans got a passing grade for protecting people in the back from a frontal-impact crash. One of America’s two major car safety testers made its crash tests more difficult this year. The results have not been encouraging. But tougher tests are meant to push higher standards, so the outcome could drive improved safety technology in the long run.
America’s two crash testing agencies Many countries crash-test cars, but America benefits from the work of two safety testing organizations. One is the federal government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It was not involved in this round of tests. The other is not a government effort. A group of car insurance companies funds their own safety lab — the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Insurers make more money when accidents are rarer and less deadly, so the insurance industry uses the IIHS to push the auto industry to develop safer cars. The institute’s tests are generally regarded as tougher than government tests, partly because it can modify its testing programs without a lengthy public comment period. T …
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