2016 Top Safety Picks Announced with Toughest Criteria Ever
More car models awarded top safety pick despite most rigorous requirements yet |
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released their 2016 Top Safety Picks. The results spell good news for prospective car buyers: for the second year in a row, more vehicles earned Top Safety Pick Plus ratings, even as the institute raised their standards and requirements.
More than 20 winners of the last year’s Top Safety Pick award don’t qualify under the 2016 criteria. But, even with the tougher standards, more vehicles earned the top rankings – 48 models were named Top Safety Pick Plus, up from 33 models last year.
Honda, Toyota, VW/Audi, and Subaru Dominate the Top Rankings
See the complete list of 2016 winners here. Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen/Audi, and Subaru are the automakers with the most Top Safety Picks in this year’s list.
Raising the Bar
The new criteria for earning a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick Plus rating include small overlap crash test performance (designed to see how vehicles handle a front-end diagonal impact), and front crash prevention such as automatic braking.
At the same time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also updating their star-rating criteria in order to improve safety and keep up with the rapidly improving technology. Since 1978, the NHTSA has been assigning cars safety ratings to help consumers make informed decisions about the cars they purchase. This year, they’re raising the bar again, challenging automakers to get those four- and five-star ratings on their vehicles, more safety requirements, more tests, and new crash test dummies.
Cars are Getting Safer
With these rating systems, the IIHS and the NHTSA put pressure on automakers to step up their safety game. Consumers look to these safety rating scores when looking to buy a new car. In order to keep up with the competition, automakers must adopt the newest safety features or risk being outdone.
Features that were once available only in luxury models are now becoming more prevalent. The most advanced safety technology is still limited to more expensive brands, or as costlier options available on base models. But, it is likely that these features will continue to become more widespread. “This year’s winners are certainly safer than the vehicles that earned our first TOP SAFETY PICK awards 10 years ago,” according to IIHS president Adrian Lund.
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