Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

For years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers have resisted even the slightest boost in roof crush standards. Now, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has stepped in to raise the bar on roof strength standards.

The IIHS performs dozens of car crash tests every year, the results of which prompt car manufacturers to improve many safety and performance features in their vehicles.

Safety-minded car buyers around the world turn to IIHS test scores to determine which vehicles rank the highest. Auto manufacturers who produce high-scoring models wear the ranking as a badge of honor. Other manufacturers will make improvements to their automobiles in an effort to win a higher grade on IIHS tests.

Now the IIHS has made stronger roofs requisite to earning its highest safety ranking. According to Adrian Lund, president of the IIHS, the organization found that it was time to require that the automakers do more to improve roof strength if they wanted to win a coveted ranking. Just a single-point increase in a vehicle’s roof strength reduces the risk of fatality by more than 20 percent, Lund said in a report by the Detroit News.

The NHTSA proposed a new standard requiring automobiles to withstand 2.5 times their own weight in static crush tests while leaving sufficient head room for an average size male. The old standard, established in the early 1970s, required cars to withstand just 1.5 times their own weight. The proposed improvements, however, were criticized by many safety advocates as being insufficient.

Starting in the fall or 2009, the IIHS will require cars to have a 4.0 roof crush rating for them to become a top safety pick.

“We see significant safety benefits in stronger vehicle roofs,” Lund told the Detroit News, adding that the NHTSA underestimated the number of injuries and fatalities that would be prevented by stronger roofs. Rollovers represent just 3 percent of all car crashes, yet they account for one-third of all traffic fatalities.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers resists increasing roof strength standards beyond 2.5 times the vehicle’s weight.

Wade Newton, spokesman for the Alliance, told the Detroit News that “Drivers and passengers are better served by a system of enhancements including improvements in vehicle stability, ejection mitigation, roof crush resistance as well as road improvement and behavioral strategies aimed at consumer education.”

Rollover accidents kill approximately 10,000 people every year and catastrophically injure 24,000.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under News, automobile accident, rollover accident, safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.