The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently tested five small cars for a process called “sub-marining.”
It’s when a seat belt moves from its ideal position over the lap and into the abdomen. This can cause serious abdominal injuries.
None of the cars tested earned a good rating.
The Honda Civic sedan and Toyota Corolla sedan are rated acceptable.
The Kia Forte, Nissan Sentra and Subaru Crosstrek are rated poor.
“We want to be clear that the results from our updated overlap test do not change our recommendation regarding where children should be seated in the vehicle,” said David Harkey, president of IIHS. “It is still the case that the rear seat is the safest place for children who are in car seats, in booster seats and under the age of 13.”
Harkey stressed that the reason rear seats test so poorly is that improvements made to front seat safety have not transferred to the back of vehicles.