Every year, the International Institute of Highway Safety conducts tests to new vehicles and gives them the rating on the safest ones. The IHHS focuses on road safety for the driver, vehicle occupants, and other road users as well. This morning, they have just announced the safest ones on the market for 2017, and only 38 vehicles made it to the list.
Car Makers Need To Give Attention To Their Headlights
The International Institute of Highway Safety raised their standards from last years. Now also focusing on more functional headlights. "We've raised the bar, automakers have not focused enough attention on whether or not headlamps are aimed such that they light up the road for the driver ahead of them,' IIHS president Adrian Lund said in an interview.
Some new luxury cars are equipped with head lights that shift during corners to give a preview of what's ahead, however the fancy headlights still do not give the much-needed visibility during night time driving. Some headlights are also positioned too high, or in a manner that is blinding to other road users even when it is in the dim position, while some still do not properly light the road ahead even on high beams. The International Institute of Highway Safety ensures that cars meet the safety standards that headlamps should provide its users, or basically, a headlight that does its job. In addition, the vehicles also need to pass crash worthiness and front crash prevention standards.
Toyota And Honda Took The Lead, No Ford On The List
Toyota, together with its luxury line Lexus, led the list by passing nine vehicles and earning the designation for Top Safety Pick Plus. Honda and Acura came in second with five of their vehicles making it to the list. Unfortunately for Ford, none of their vehicles made it to the top list, the American car brand still have safe cars, just not the safest in International Institute of Highway Safety standards.
For pick up trucks, the International Institute of Highway Standards only gave the highest honor to the all-new Honda Ridgeline. Well-known and experienced truck makers such as General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan and Ford, all failed to make it to the top list. A major reason for the other top manufacturers not to enter the list is that they need to improve and develop state of the art crash protection for their trucks.
Top 38 Cars That Made It To The List
Here is the list of the vehicles that made it to the International Institute of Highway Standards Top Safety Pick Plus for 2017: the Chevy Volt, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Prius made it for the small cars category. The Honda Accord four doors, Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius V, and the Volkswagen Jetta took the lead for mid-sized sedans.
The Audi A4, Lexus ES 350, Volvo S60, and Volvo V60 made it for the mid-sized luxury cars category, and the Genesis G80, Genesis G90 and Lexus RC got the spot for the large luxury cars. For small SUVs, the Mazda CX-3, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, and Toyota Rav4 received the award, while the Honda Pilot and Hyundai Santa Fe entered the list for the mid-sized SUVs category.
For the mid-sized luxury SUVs, the Acura MDX, Acura RDX, Audi Q5, Buick Envision, Lexus NX, Lexus RX, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and Volvo XC60 made it to the list. Only the Chrysler Pacifica got the minivan category and the Honda Ridgeline for the large pickup category. The International Institute of Highway Safety's list is a good basis to look at when shopping for new cars, cars that did not make the list does not mean that they are not safe, but it only means that they may be lacking some features that the cars on top have.
