JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – People sitting in the backseat of mid-size SUVs may not be as safe as they think, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found.
Mid-size SUVs endured the IIHS crash test for the first time with a dummy in the back seat. Here are the results.
13 cars were tested
Only four of the cars tested — the Ford Explorer, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Subaru Ascent and Tesla Model Y — earned good ratings.
Three others — the Chevrolet Traverse, Toyota Highlander and Volkswagen Atlas — earned marginal ratings.
The remaining six models were rated as poor.
“All these vehicles provide excellent protection for the driver,” said IIHS President David Harkey, “but only a handful extend that level of safety to the back seat.”
The bottom line? There is a 46 percent greater chance of someone in the backseat being fatally injured in a crash.
The IIHS stressed this isn’t because the backseat has become less safe, but that the front seat is the only area where restraint protection improvements have been made.
Below are the six SUVs that scored a “poor” score.
The dummy that was used in the backseat of all of the SUVs tested was the size of a 12-year-old or a small woman.