Vehicles with good side impact ratings are much safer than those without, according to a new study.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found drivers who are in a vehicle rated with “good” side impact protection are 70 percent less likely to die than those in a vehicle rated “poor.” The driver’s age, gender and vehicle type and weight were also factors in the study.
“Vehicles with good side ratings provide occupants with far more protection than vehicles that do poorly in our test,” said IIHS Chief Research Officer David Zuby, to news reports. He said the research is the “first look at how our ratings correlate with actual crash data.”
In 2003, automakers pledged to build vehicles that withheld side impacts better. As a result, 78 percent of current vehicles that have been tested by the institute have good side ratings, up from 17 percent in 2003.
By 2013 vehicles should be even safer, since an agreement with automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require side curtain and side torso air bags.
As a North Charleston car accident attorney, , I’m glad to hear that manufactures are making their cars safer by paying more attention to side impact safety.
If you have been injured in a car accident, contact a personal injury lawyer in North Charleston .