‘08 Subarus Rated 'Top Safety Pick' By IIHS

Anthony Fontanelle
December 16, 2007

Safety is a topmost auto priority. There’s no doubt a lot of automakers are exerting much effort in boosting their safety features. Subaru, for one, is earning the fruits of its labor.

Earlier, Subaru Canada, Inc. announced that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has designated every vehicle in the automaker’s lineup as a 'Top Safety Pick' when equipped with Vehicle Dynamics Control, an electronic stability control (ESC) system.

The 2008 Subaru Impreza, Legacy or Outback, Forester and Tribeca all received the highest accolade from the Institute, which helps consumers identify those vehicles that provide the best overall protection and reduce the risk of occupant injury in a crash.

"We commend Subaru for producing these vehicles, which meet the Institute's demanding Top Safety Pick criteria," said IIHS President Adrian Lund, Ph.D. "This is an elite group of cars with outstanding crashworthiness."

According to the Institute, front and side impacts are the most common kinds of fatal crashes, killing nearly 75 per cent of vehicle occupants who died in 2005. Rear-end crashes usually are not fatal. However, they result in a large proportion of the injuries that happen in crashes. In 2002, approximately 60 per cent of insurance injury claims reported minor neck sprains and strains.

The 2008 Subaru Impreza recently became the first small car ever to be named a Top Safety Pick, mainly because it features Vehicle Dynamics Control as an option. It is worth noting that ESC is now a requirement for Top Safety Pick designation. Vehicle Dynamics Control can help drivers maintain control during emergency maneuvers when their vehicles otherwise might spin out.

Institute research data indicates that an ESC system diminishes the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes by 56 per cent and fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by 32 per cent. Many single-vehicle crashes cover rolling over, and ESC reduces the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 80 per cent (sport utility vehicles) and 77 per cent (cars).

How are the vehicles evaluated by the IIHS?

The Institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of frontal offset crash tests at 40 mph, the institute said. Each vehicle's overall side evaluation is based on performance in a crash test. In the said test, the side of the vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph that represents the front end of a pickup or sport utility vehicle. Ratings reflect the probability that a driver and other occupants in a real-world crash would have sustained serious injury.

Rear crash protection test, meanwhile, simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph.

For more information about the IIHS safety testing and ratings, visit the Institute's website at www.iihs.org. Additionally, to know about the lineup of the Subaru tail lights maker, go to www.subaru.ca.

Source:  Amazines.com