Because of this year’s strengthened requirements, earning an award from IIHS gets tougher

(These seven soundbites are from David Harkey, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s president. For the full list of winners, see iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks.) “We are strengthening the requirements for our ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’ and ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’ awards. Now, they demand better side-crash protection, improved crash-prevention systems for pedestrians, and better-performing headlights. Updates are an essential part of our awards-program—which aims to continually push manufacturers toward a higher level of vehicle-safety.” (:20) “Only 48 models qualify for awards this year; 28 earn ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’ and the other 20 earn ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’. This year’s number of winners is smaller, because we’re challenging automakers to build on the safety-gains that they’ve already achieved—by introducing both tougher and new tests to the award-criteria. These award-winners are true standouts in both crashworthiness and crash-prevention. And, we’re confident that the number of winners will grow throughout the year.” (:29) “The biggest change for both awards is the replacement of our original side-crash test with the updated evaluation that was launched in 2021, to address the large number of fatalities that still occur in this type of crash. The new test has a heavier barrier striking the vehicle at a higher speed—and involves 82-percent more energy. Vehicles must earn an ‘acceptable’ or ‘good’ rating in this test to qualify for ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’—while a ‘good’ rating is required for ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’. The updated side-test is an example of how we build on past successes, in order to encourage further progress.” (:40) “The ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’ criteria include another new evaluation: the nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front-crash-prevention test. Pedestrian-deaths have been on the rise in recent years—and most of them occur at night. This new evaluation is intended to accelerate improvements to crash-avoidance technology that can help reverse that trend.” (:21) “Good headlights cut nighttime crash-rates—so we’re once again pushing automakers to drop subpar headlights. Previously, a vehicle could qualify for a ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’ by offering at least one trim-level with either ‘acceptable’ or ‘good’ headlights—while winners of ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’ needed to have them standard across all trims. Now, both awards require standard ‘acceptable’ or ‘good’ headlights.” (:27) “‘Toyota Motor Corporation’—which includes the ‘Toyota’- and ‘Lexus’-brands—has this year’s most awards overall: 15. They also have the most awards in each category: nine ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’ and six ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’ awards. ‘Honda Motor Company’—which includes the ‘Acura’- and ‘Honda’-brands—is next, with six ‘TOP SAFETY PICK – Plus’ and two ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’ awards. And, Mazda earns six ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’ awards.” (:28) “We launched our ‘TOP SAFETY PICK’ awards-program more than a decade ago—because we wanted to give consumers an easy way to identify the safest vehicles at the dealership. And, by raising the bar gradually over the years, we’ve continually pushed automakers to improve vehicle-safety. That’s why these cars, S-U-V’s, pickups, and minivans are truly today’s safest vehicles.” (:23)