Just 15 Cars Receive Top Pick+ Safety Ratings for 2018.

We often read about how cars are becoming safer with additional automation features. However, that perception is questioned by a new report that found just 15 cars received top Pick+ safety ratings for 2018.

Just a handful of new cars meet the bolstered requirements of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The stricter guidelines hone in on the level of protection for passengers in the front seat in frontal collisions. They simulate a car hitting a tree or pole.

In Virginia, many drivers and passengers lose their lives when cars leave the highway and hit trees.

Despite the evolution of cars, they provide little protection when they hit obstacles of this nature.

Before this year, only the driver’s side faced this test. It has since been widened to include the passenger side and the results are alarming.

IIHS president Adrian Lund said in a statement:

“Drivers expect that their passengers, who are often family, will be protected just as well as they are. Manufacturers have been taking this issue seriously since we first shed light on it, and we’re confident that good small overlap protection will become the norm on the passenger side, just as it has on the driver side.”

A report in Consumer Reports noted Japanese automobiles dominated the top Pick+ safety ratings.

The Top Pick+ safety ratings were dominated by Toyota, Hyundai, and Subaru. Toyota has the most models that make the Pick+ safety ratings. The automaker had 10 standout models, among the ranks of Top Safety Pick and Safety Pick+. Hyundai had nine vehicles represented, and every Subaru model except the BRZ sports coupe earned an IIHS safety award.

Mercedes cars also scored strongly in the 2018 awards. The Top Safety Pick+ for 2018 are the BMW 5 Series, Kia Forte Genesis G80, Genesis G90, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Hyundai Santa Fe, Lincoln Continental, Kia Soul, Mercedes-Benz E-Class (sedan), Mercedes-Benz GLC, Subaru Impreza, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Subaru WRX, and the Toyota Camry.

A report in Consumer Reports noted the IIHS included front-passenger small-overlap testing in its Top Safety Pick rankings for the first time in 2018.

Before that, the ILHS only tested the vehicle’s performance on the driver’s side.

In the new test, an automobile hits a metal barrier at 40 mph with just a quarter of the vehicle’s front width. The front passenger’s side bears the brunt.

The test is meant to simulate a car or an SUV hitting a tree or utility pole. By concentrating the force of the impact into a smaller area, on a single corner of the car, this test provides a graphic illustration of what happens when the vehicle’s cabin structure absorbs an intense impact.

Passengers have rights. If you have been hurt in a Virginia or a northeast Carolina car wreck, please contact us at (757) 455-0077.