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As the driver of this car was turning left out of a parking lot, she was struck by an approaching SUV. The impact was severe, and vehicle damage was extensive. However, the driver escaped unscathed. She didn’t even seek medical attention. A likely reason was the side airbag that cushioned her head, chest, and abdomen during the collision. These are reducing driver deaths in cars struck on the near (driver) side by an estimated 37 percent. Airbags that Read more . . .
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Bad statistics lead to misinformation. Sweep ’em out. That’s what ought to be done with research “findings” based on misguided analyses of inappropriate data. This is the stuff to which British statesman Benjamin Disraeli referred, famously citing “lies, damned lies, and statistics” to bemoan the willy-nilly use of numbers.
Numbers can, and often are, used to “prove” just about any program or policy that anybody with an agenda wants to praise or discredit. It’s an ongoing problem, and the field of highway safety is no exception. A new report by former Institute president Brian O’Neill and statistician Sergey Kyrychenko points to multiple examples of how motor vehicle death rates have been misinterpreted. These examples serve as powerful warnings of how not to use data.
Read the full article here, in PDF
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Frontal offset crash tests conducted by the Institute since 1995 have prompted huge improvements in how vehicles protect people in frontal crashes. Now this consumer information program is undergoing a major change.
The Institute evaluates the crashworthiness of passenger vehicles based on 40 mph frontal offset crash tests in which the driver side of the front of a vehicle strikes a deformable barrier. Read more . . .
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Mismatch of the front ends of the vehicles in this crash test is a problem. The SUV’s front-end energy-absorbing structure rides of the car’s. In a real crash, this could increase injury risks for the car occupants, which is why auto manufacturers have been committed since 2003 to designing the front ends of light trucks (SUVs and pickups) so their energy-absorbing structures overlap those of cars (see Status Report, Jan. 3, 2004; on the web at www.iihs.org).
“Compliance with these voluntary commitments already is making a difference, even Read more . . .