Most Midsize SUVs Fail to Provide Adequate Rear Passenger Protection, IIHS Ratings Reveal

The latest crash test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reveal that most midsize SUVs lack adequate front crash protection for passengers seated in the rear.

IIHS President David Harkey said, “All these vehicles provide excellent protection for the driver, but only a handful extend that level of safety to the back seat.”

Of the 13 midsize SUVs tested, only four earned a good rating for rear passenger protection - the Ford Explorer, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Subaru Ascent, and Tesla Model Y. Three earned a marginal rating, while the other six were rated as poor.

IIHS launched the updated moderate overlap front test last year in response to research showing that the front-seat safety gains that were driven by the original evaluation have not been matched in the rear. In vehicles from model year 2007 onward, the risk of a fatal injury is 46 percent higher for belted occupants in the rear seat than in the front. This is not because the rear seat has become less safe, but because restraint technologies have only improved in the front seat.

To earn a good rating, measurements recorded by sensors in the second-row dummy must not exceed limits indicating an excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, or thigh. Video footage and greasepaint applied to the dummy’s head must confirm that the restraints prevented the head from hitting the vehicle interior or coming too close to the front seatback, and also prevented the dummy’s body from sliding forward beneath the lap belt, which causes abdominal injuries. A pressure sensor that monitors the position of the shoulder belt on the torso of the dummy is also used to help gauge the risk of chest injuries.

“Zeroing in on weaknesses in rear seat safety is an opportunity to make big gains in a short time since solutions that are already proven to work in the front can successfully be adapted for the rear,” said IIHS Senior Research Engineer Marcy Edwards, who led the development of the updated test. “The four good ratings in this round of testing show that some automakers are already doing it.”

IIHS recommends that manufacturers focus on implementing rear-seat airbags and improving restraint systems. These features are already included in some high-end vehicles but are not yet widespread.

Source: IIHS