Safest Cars for Children: IIHS Safety Ratings

You’ve chosen the safest convertible car seat for your budget – but should you put that seat into an unsafe car?

As parents, we need the assurance that the vehicle we’re riding in is well-engineered to provide superior protection for our families. That leaves us with the question: how do we get this assurance?

There are several highly recognized organizations that test and rate the safety of a wide array of car models for different manufacturers. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), one of the most popular car seat safety organizations, and we’ll learn how they test and rate their cars to give us the safest cars for children. I’ll also give you a shortlist of the safest cars in 2020.

How are Cars Rated for Safety?

The IIHS is an organization that’s highly accredited for providing accurate vehicle safety ratings.

To get these safety ratings, the IIHS performs real-life crash test scenarios and high-end safety system evaluations on a wide array of vehicles. Once the vehicles have been rated, the information gathered from the tests is then listed out in an easy-to-read format that IIHS refers to as their Top Saftey Pick Rating System.

Not only are these ratings informational and super beneficial for parents, but they also inspire manufacturers to create safer vehicles with enhanced safety features that protect both you and your vehicle.

What are the IIHS Safety Ratings?

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To conduct thorough and accurate crash tests, the IIHS breaks them up into several components.

• Frontal Crash Tests: A frontal crash is the most common type of car crash that leads to death. IIHS breaks up their frontal crash tests into three parts which include: Moderate overlap frontal test configuration, Driver-side overlap frontal test configuration, and Passenger-side small overlap frontal test configuration.
• Side Crash Test: IIHS designed their side crash tests to better simulate the type of crashes that could happen in the real world.
• Roof Strength Test: IIHS conducts roof strength tests because so many people die every year due to rollovers. When they perform this test, IIHS is testing the roof’s ability to maintain its shape and “…occupant survival space.” If the roof of a vehicle can hold its own, it gives passengers a higher chance of survival and lowers the risk of injury from the roof collapsing on them.
• Head Restraints & Seats Test: These tests are designed to evaluate how well the head restraints work to prevent whiplash in the event of a rear-end collision. IIHS is also testing how effective the head restraints are at lowering the risk of head and neck injury in a crash.
• Front Crash Prevention Tests: Theses tests help parents determine which systems are most effective for detecting possible collisions. Some of these systems may include an auto brake system or a device that alerts you when you’re too close to another vehicle or pedestrian.
• Headlight Evaluation: Evaluating the headlights consists of checking the consistency of illumination when a vehicle is on the road. To do this, IIHS measures the distance that the headlights travel when the vehicle is driving straight and on curves.
• LATCH Evaluation: These tests were modified by IIHS to encourage manufacturers to engineer LATCH systems that are easy to use. There are several things that IIHS looks for when conducting the LATCH evaluation. They include: accessibility to lower anchor tethers, force, clearance angle, location, and confusing hardware.
• Verification: This is a process that IIHS goes through with manufacturers to keep parents up to date about redesigned car models and new releases. If the changes made to a model are drastic, then the car must be retested to receive new safety ratings.

What are the Top 10 Safest Cars?

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1. 2020-21 Honda Insight 4-Door Sedan

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 100% Good, 100% Superior
• Child Seat Anchors: Very Good

2. 2020 Mazda 6 4-Door Sedan

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 50% Good, 50% Average, Superior/Advanced
• Child Seat Anchors: Very Good

3. 2020 Lexus ES 350 4-Door Sedan

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 50% Good, 50% Average, Superior/Advanced
• Child Seat Anchors: Good

4. 2020 Kia Stinger 4-Door Hatchback

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 33% Good, 33% Average, 33% Poor, Superior/Advanced
• Child Seat Anchors: Marginal

5. 2020 Audi A6 4-Door Sedan

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 50% Good, 50% Average, Superior
• Child Seat Anchors: Good

6. 2020 Mazda CX-3 4-Door SUV

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 100% Average, Superior/Advanced
• Child Seat Anchors: Average

7. 2020 Mazda CX-9 4-Door SUV

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 50% Good 50% Marginal, Superior/Advanced
• Child Seat Anchors: N/A

8. 2020 Acura RDX 4-Door SUV

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 50% Good, 50% Average, Superior/Advanced
• Child Seat Anchors: Very Good

9. 2020 Cadillac XT6 4-Door SUV

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 100% Average, Superior
• Child Seat Anchors: Advanced

10. 2020 Audi Q8 4-Door SUV

• Crashworthiness: 100% Good
• Crash avoidance and Mitigation: 50% Average, 50% Poor, Superior
• Child Seat Anchors: Good

What are the Top Safety Picks in Every Major Category of Cars:

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Conclusion

Safety ratings are a necessary tool to help parents and consumers buy vehicles that will keep them and their families safe. Keep in mind when looking at a vehicle’s safety ratings that you don’t have to understand every single detail that’s listed, but it’s good to have general idea of what makes a vehicle safe. If you would like to view your car’s safety ratings, visit the NHTSA or IIHS websites to see if your model is listed.

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