Jeffrey Wade
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage caused by motor vehicle crashes. The IIHS was founded in 1959 by three major insurance associations representing 80% of the U.S. auto insurance market. The website for the IIHS is https://www.iihs.org/. The IIHS website provides vehicle safety ratings, statistics, and other news related to vehicular and highway safety.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Website | www.iihs.org |
| Organisation Name | Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) |
| Affiliated Organisation | Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) |
| Type of Organisation | Independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organisation |
| Founding Date | 1959 |
| Founding Organisations | Three major insurance associations |
| Purpose | Reduce deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes |
| Focus | Vehicle safety, crash prevention, consumer education |
| Funding | Auto insurance industry, member organisations |
| Members | State Farm, Progressive, Geico and other insurers |
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What You'll Learn
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
The IIHS has been instrumental in bringing about many changes to the nation's roads and automotive safety over the last half-century. For example, in 2009, the IIHS celebrated its 50th anniversary by crash-testing a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air head-on with a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu at 40 mph. The results highlighted the vast improvements in automotive safety over the preceding five decades. The IIHS has also made significant contributions to reducing pedestrian deaths and improving rear-seat protection.
The IIHS evaluates six individual categories, assigning each a "Good," "Acceptable," "Marginal," or "Poor" rating before determining a vehicle's overall frontal impact rating. In March 2016, the IIHS released ratings for headlight performance, with most family cars earning marginal or poor ratings. The organization has also been updating its vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation to address more severe crashes, running tests at higher speeds and involving a motorcycle target and semitrailer, in addition to a passenger car target.
The IIHS works closely with the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), which was founded in 1972 as a supporting organization. The HLDI compiles and publishes insurance loss statistics due to incidents such as traffic collisions, depending on the vehicle type. Together, the IIHS and HLDI provide valuable information and insights to consumers, policymakers, and the automotive industry, with the shared goal of enhancing highway safety and reducing the impact of vehicle crashes.
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Crash test ratings
IIHS Crash Test Ratings
The IIHS is an independent, nonprofit scientific organisation dedicated to enhancing vehicle safety. Its crash tests focus on two key aspects: crashworthiness and crash avoidance/mitigation. Crashworthiness evaluates how well a vehicle safeguards its occupants during a collision. On the other hand, crash avoidance and mitigation technologies aim to prevent crashes or reduce their severity. IIHS tests encompass a range of scenarios, including vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, pedestrian safety, and seat belt reminder effectiveness.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings
The NHTSA, established under the Highway Safety Act, conducts frontal, side, and rollover tests, as these are the most common crash types. The 5-Star Safety Ratings system empowers consumers to make informed choices when purchasing vehicles. NHTSA's tests include detailed scenarios, such as head-on collisions, side impacts, and rollovers due to loss of control. These tests consider the vehicle's weight class to ensure fair comparisons. The Overall Vehicle Score, including the frontal crash test rating, can only be compared within the same weight class and vehicle type.
Importance of Crash Test Ratings
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Vehicle safety ratings
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage from motor vehicle crashes. The IIHS website provides vehicle safety ratings, statistics, and news related to vehicular and highway safety. The IIHS works with the affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) to share and support its mission through scientific studies of insurance data. The HLDI publishes insurance loss results by vehicle make and model.
The IIHS conducts tests that evaluate two aspects of safety: crashworthiness and crash avoidance and mitigation. Crashworthiness refers to how well a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash, while crash avoidance and mitigation refer to technologies that can prevent a crash or lessen its severity. The IIHS also provides a list of recommended used and new models for teens, taking into account safety features and loss information for various types of coverage.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also provides vehicle safety ratings through its 5-Star Safety Ratings program. This program helps consumers compare vehicle safety and make informed decisions when purchasing a vehicle. NHTSA is the only organization that rates rollover resistance in addition to frontal and side crashworthiness. NHTSA categorizes vehicles by class and curb weight, with curb weight referring to the weight of a vehicle with standard equipment, including maximum fuel, oil, coolant, and air conditioning. NHTSA's ratings also include Ease of Use Ratings, which allow consumers to compare how easy it is to use certain car seat features, and Uniform Tire Quality Grading Systems (UTQGS) ratings, which allow consumers to compare tire features.
Both the IIHS and NHTSA provide valuable information and ratings to help consumers make informed decisions about vehicle safety. It is important to consider multiple factors and utilize various resources when assessing vehicle safety.
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The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI)
The IIHS and HLDI are often referred to as a single entity (IIHS-HLDI) by the organization itself, although they can also be referred to as separate entities. The IIHS was founded in 1959 by three major insurance associations representing 80% of the US auto insurance market. Its original purpose was to support other organizations in the field of highway safety. Today, the IIHS evaluates six individual categories, assigning each a "Good", "Acceptable", "Marginal", or "Poor" rating before determining the vehicle's overall frontal impact rating. The IIHS also updates its vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation to address more severe crashes, running tests at higher speeds and involving different types of vehicles.
The HLDI and IIHS both provide valuable information and resources for consumers, policymakers, and safety professionals. They work to reduce the number of highway crashes and improve vehicle safety through research, ratings, and recommendations. The IIHS-HLDI website offers vehicle safety ratings, statistics, and news related to vehicular and highway safety. For example, the IIHS highlights safe and affordable options for young drivers, including small cars, SUVs, and recommendations for features such as front crash prevention and partial automation. It also addresses issues such as alcohol and crash risk, cellphone use, and the effectiveness of different laws and technologies in reducing crashes.
The work of the HLDI and IIHS has had a significant impact on highway safety over the years. Their research has influenced changes to vehicle design and safety features, leading to improvements in crash prevention and protection. For instance, IIHS researchers found that vehicles with tall or blunt front ends are more likely to kill pedestrians in a collision compared to vehicles with short, sloping front ends. This finding prompted automakers to consider alternative designs to improve pedestrian safety. Additionally, the IIHS began rating seat belt reminders, encouraging loud and persistent alerts to persuade people to buckle up on every trip.
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IIHS and HLDI history
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization founded in 1959. It is dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage from motor vehicle crashes through research, evaluation, and education. IIHS is funded by auto insurers and insurance associations and conducts vehicle crash tests and other evaluations at its Vehicle Research Center.
In its early years, IIHS supported the efforts of others in highway safety. In 1969, physician William Haddon Jr. became the president of IIHS, and the institute began conducting crash tests, starting with the low-speed bumper test.
In 1972, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) was founded as a supporting organization to the IIHS. HLDI compiles and publishes insurance loss statistics from traffic collisions and consequential damages, depending on the vehicle type. HLDI also studies the effects of safety and crash avoidance features, such as electronic stability control (ESC), forward collision warning, and adaptive headlights. HLDI's research has influenced vehicle manufacturers and federal governments to prioritize safety features.
Over the years, IIHS has updated its testing procedures to address more severe crashes and has made recommendations to improve pedestrian safety. In 2012, IIHS released the results of a new test called the "small overlap front test," which is more demanding on vehicle structure than the previous 40% offset test. In 2022, IIHS updated the moderate overlap test to include a second crash test dummy seated behind the driver, challenging automakers to improve rear-seat protection.
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Frequently asked questions
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes through research and evaluation and through education of consumers, policymakers and safety professionals.
The website for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is https://www.iihs.org/.
The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) is a nonprofit research organization that shares the IIHS's mission of reducing highway crash deaths, injuries and property losses. It does so by publishing insurance loss statistics on most car, SUV, pickup truck and motorcycle models on US and Canadian roads.
The website for the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) is https://www.hldi.org/.
