U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wants to make our roads a safer place. Distracted driving is arguably his number one issue, and LaHood is waging a concerted campaign to try and curb it. Is he taking things a step too far, though? According to Automotive News, LaHood has now stated that he believes motorists are distracted by any use of a mobile device wh
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released new findings related to texting-while-driving laws and their effectiveness – the results of which are quite surprising. The Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the IIHS, compiled claim data for four states; California, Louisiana, Minnesota and Washington. Each state has enacted a ban on texting while driving, and this study examines data for the months before and after the
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its third round of booster seat evaluations in which researchers examine how well child safety restraints work with existing seat belts. According to the IIHS, a child booster seat should put the lower portion of the seat belt across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt at mid-shoulder. Those booster seats that met these criteria were awarded a Best Bet or Good Bet rating depending on effect
2011 Buick Regal at IIHS – Click above for high-res image gallery
2011 Ford Fiesta offset barrier crash test – Click above for high-res image gallery
The insurance industry-funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is calling out its governmental counterpart, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for distracting drivers from genuine safety concerns.
2011 Kia Sportage – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has put a new crop of large luxury vehicles through its crash test gauntlet, and the Cadillac CTS and Infiniti M joined some impressive company in scoring a Top Safety Pick designation. The CTS and M clinched the highly regarded award by receiving the top score of "Good" in roof strength testing. To achieve the top score in rollover safety, a vehicle's roof has
2011 BMW 535i – Click above for high-res image gallery
IIHS rollover tests for midsized SUVs – Click above for high-res image gallery
If you live in the U.S. sunbelt or in an upscale gated community, you've probably seen quite a few of those hopped-up electric golf carts trolling around your neighborhood. These low-speed vehicles are great for zipping to the mailbox or heading over to the clubhouse, and the vehicles are currently allowed on select public roads in 46 of the 50 United States. But even though they're perfectly legal in many areas, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a pretty serious warning for anyone
2010 Hyundai Genesis gets crash tested – Click above for high-res image gallery
How far is too far? In a recent press release, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety made a plea to the federal government to require anti-lock braking systems on all motorcycles sold in the U.S. The group cites a newly-released study showing 22 percent fewer damage claims are made on motorcycles with ABS compared to non-equipped models, in part, as justification for th
First the Oscars and now this! The envelope please! The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released a bevy of scores for the Infiniti M, Lexus HS 250h and Toyota 4Runner and it was nothing but "Good" all around. The Infiniti and Toy
2011 Hyundai Sonata – Click above for high-res image gallery
IIHS compact pickup crash tests – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has once again announced the winners of its Top Safety Pick award – all 27 of them. This time out, 19 cars and eight SUVs made the all-important grade. To break it down a bit for you, Subaru is the only make to earn top marks in each of the classes in which it competes (four), winning a total of five awards. Ford and Volvo combined to take home six Top Safety Pick awards (the most of any automaker), VW/Audi comes away with five and
Vehicles are getting safer according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which published its list of 2009 Top Safety Picks today. A total of 72 vehicles earned Top Safety Pick honors this year, which means each one earned the highest score of Good in front, side and rear crash tests performed by the IIHS, as well as offers electronic stability control. Ford and Volvo had the most cars on the list with 16 total, while Honda/Acura nabbed 13. The VW/Audi Group had nine models, and Genera
Click above for high-res gallery of each crash test
