Georgia Injury Law Blog
When motorists drive cars that have been ranked highly by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they are less likely to suffer fatal personal injuries in a car accident.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is one of several organizations that publishes safety rankings for automobiles. Thousands of Americans who buy new cars every year depend on ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Consumer Reports and other organizations. For them, these rankings form a critical component of the buying decision.
A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that when motorists are driving cars that have been highly ranked, their risks of suffering fatal personal injuries in an auto accident fall by 12% compared to vehicles that are ranked poorly. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety focused on motorists driving cars that performed well on small overlap tests. The study found that motorists driving cars that performed better on small overlap tests in frontal car accidents were less likely to suffer personal injuries in an auto accident.
Several independent organizations publish car ratings that are heavily relied on by consumers before making a decision. Consumer Reports, for instance, publishes ratings that are used as the standard for motorists looking to buy a new car. Apart from Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, several government organizations rank cars based on their performance on safety crash tests. Insurance companies also regularly release their own rankings of automobiles based on safety performance.
Highly ranked cars do perform better overall on parameters like roof strength, the quality of airbags, and other important parameters that can dictate motorist safety. Rankings also rate automobiles based on their performance on key parameters including the reliability of the vehicle’s antilock braking systems and electronic stability control systems as well as other parameters. Motorists buying a sports utility vehicle, for instance, definitely want to consider the car’s performance in roof crush testing or rollover prevention before buying the car. These informed buying decisions have actually resulted in a drop in the number of wrongful deaths caused by rollover car accidents every year. In fact, according to Consumer Reports, 65% of drivers admitted that they prioritized safety right at the top of the list when they purchased a car.
As cars become more complex and include greater amounts of safety technology, it becomes even more important for motorists to have access to comprehensive rankings and ratings of these technologies to enable and encourage drivers to make informed decisions for their safety.
The Atlanta car crash attorneys at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons injured in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and determine if you have legal options to a claim for damages. You may be eligible for compensation that includes medical expenses, lost income and other types of damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your case.