Spotlight: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Since 1959, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has functioned as a communication and scientific research organization funded by American auto insurers. The mission of the IIHS is to prevent motor vehicle accidents and minimize the losses, such as injuries, deaths, and property damage, that result from them. The crash test data provided by the IIHS encourages automakers to produce safer vehicles and informs the purchase decisions of carbuyers. Read on to find out more about who the IIHS is, what they do, and why they matter.

Background on the IIHS

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety began as a research endeavor sponsored by property-casualty insurers across the country and a number of insurance organizations. In creating the IIHS, insurers hoped to find countermeasures for the three causal factors involved in car accidents: vehicular, human, and environmental. The IIHS seeks to find interventions before, during, and after accidents in order to reduce losses. Presently, the IIHS receives funding from 80 different car insurance companies in the United States. In 1992, the IIHS opened the Vehicle Research Center (VRC), which contains a cutting-edge crash test facility and houses the majority of the Institute’s car-related research. Through an affiliate organization, the Highway Loss Data Institute, the IIHS also gathers, analyzes, and publishes statistics on how insurance losses differ among various types of vehicles.

Crash Tests

The Institute for Highway Safety’s largest claim to fame is its crash testing program of popular vehicle models. IIHS crash tests differ from those of the federal government because the IIHS uses offset impacts in its tests. In other words, only a portion of the vehicle withstands the impact, which leads to more accurate structural strength information than the full-width tests of the federal government. The IIHS uses four ratings in its crash tests: “Good” (best), “Acceptable,” “Marginal,” and “Poor” (worst). A summary of the crash tests to which the IIHS subjects new vehicles follows.

Frontal-offset impact test.

In this test, 40 percent of the vehicle’s front end is exposed to a collision with a deformable barrier at 40 mph. The IIHS evaluates each vehicle in six separate categories before determining the overall frontal-offset impact score.

Side impact test.

This test simulates the impact of an SUV into the side of the test vehicle. The side impact test measures the structural integrity of the vehicle as well as the quality of its restraint systems, such as airbags, seatbelts, etc. The side impact test is typically the test in which vehicles perform the worst.

Rear crash protection/head restraint ratings.

This test simulates rear-end collisions at 20 mph to measure the effectiveness of a vehicle’s head restraints.

Roof strength evaluation.

The IIHS just introduced this test in March of 2009 in light of the fact that rollovers account for almost 25 percent of fatalities in passenger-vehicle accidents in the United States. The roof strength evaluation test of the IIHS is rigorous and resulted in fewer “Top Safety Picks” for the 2009 year than ever before.

IIHS Helps Improve Vehicle Safety

The research of the IIHS profoundly influences how automakers build their vehicles. The results of IIHS crash tests encourage automakers to build safer, more structurally sound vehicles that can withstand the rigors of IIHS testing. Similarly, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also influences consumer purchase decisions with their crash test ratings. Safety is a major priority for Americans, and the data released by the IIHS can help inform car-buying decisions.

IIHS Top Safety Picks

Each year, the IIHS releases a list of “Top Safety Picks” that recognizes the safest vehicles of the year. In order to qualify as a “Top Safety Pick,” a vehicle must earn “Good” overall ratings in the front- and side-impact tests as well as the head restraint tests. Winning vehicles must also offer electronic stability control at least as an option. Automakers with vehicles that earn this prestigious designation commonly use it in marketing and advertising campaigns to attract safety-conscious buyers. For 2010, 27 vehicles (19 cars and 8 SUVs) earned the “Top Safety Pick” designation.