IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk

John Neff — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:56:00 EST

Click above for more of the IIHS side impact crash tests for small pickups

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently performed side crash tests for the first time on small pickups. Their sampling included the Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Dakota, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier and Chevy Colorado. The results were published today and they indicate that small pickup owners might want to start wearing helmets while driving.

The IIHS has only three grades for its crash tests: Good, Marginal and Poor. The Dakota, Ranger and Frontier all earned Marginal ratings, while the Colorado could only muster a Poor rating due in part to the moving barrier actually coming in contact with the dummy's head during the simulated crash. The Tacoma, however, was the only vehicle to earn a Good rating. It was also the only small truck tested with side air bags, which are an option for 2008 but will be standard equipment on 2009 Tacomas.

If side airbags are an option, the IIHS will, as a rule, test a vehicle without them unless an automaker wants to rerun the crash test with a model that has side airbags and is willing to pay for the cost of the vehicle that's crashed. Not unsurprisingly, the archaic Ranger was the only small pickup that doesn't offer side airbags at all, though it was surprising that none of the other automakers requested their models be tested with side airbags. The IIHS also tells us that small pickups have the highest driver death rates of any vehicles on the road, which makes these tests all the more significant.

Check out the official press release after the jump, and peruse the gallery of crash test photos below to witness the utter crappiness that is small pickup crash worthiness.

Gallery: IIHS side crash test - small pickups

[Source: IIHS]

Continue reading IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk

IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

NHTSA pursuing tougher crash standards

Eric Bryant — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology

Getting a five-star crash test rating will get a whole lot tougher with a new proposal from the Bush Administration that would put into effect a requirement for side-impact testing.

Grade inflation is one of the reasons behind the change, and with 87% of all vehicles earning a four- or five-star rating, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) admits that its rating system lacks influence in the car-buying decision (and we all know how much a government agency hates not having sufficient influence).

In addition to a side-impact test that might replicate a broadslide slide into a pole or tree, NHTSA is considering adding weight to the barriers to simulate impacts with heavier vehicles, increasing the speed used in crash tests, and modifying crash-test dummies to better represent smaller female occupants.

[Source: Detroit News]

NHTSA pursuing tougher crash standards originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments