Maybe not, but I think the do. I started doing that when I bought my first car after having children. I narrowed it down to an Olds Intrigue and Buick Regal, both new in 1998. I liked the styling, handling and more advanced engine in the Olds, but bought the Buick because of the side impact ratings. If my children were going to ride in my car, they were going to get the best protection within the trade space I was operating in.
Also, safety sells. IIHS/HLDI are very successful in large part because the general public is in favor of safer cars. I’m just one person, but I like the safety devices on my 2017 Accord and my wife’s 2019 Odyssey. I’m especially pleased with rear view cameras and blind spot monitoring. I don’t have that in my Accord, and pulling out of a parking spot is always nerve wracking. Almost every spot is flanked by a truck or SUV, and I can’t see past them until I’m half way out of the spot.
The general pubic is “in favor of safer cars” in an abstract sense, but when that added “safety” comes at a high additional cost, many people would opt out if they could. For example, I do not want, nor am I willing to pay for such things as TPMS, rear cameras, side cameras, parking assist, etc. These features are, of course, now required in U.S. market cars, so the added cost is not disclosed to the consumer, although one can sort-of figure it out based on what a similar car would cost in a different market which does not require such features.
Also, speaking of “blind spot monitoring”. Today’s vehicles have large blind spots based on the design of the roof line and pillars. Older models did not have nearly as large blind spots, so a quick turn of your head before changing lanes was sufficient to check the blind spot.
I gotta admit I don’t think I’ve ever paid any attention to crash test results. On the other hand I like TPMS so I don’t get my pants dirty checking air pressure and I like the rear camera and blind spot monitoring. I don’t think these electronic features can add more than a couple hundred dollars on the assembly line. Auto braking, parking assist, wake up devices, steering wheel vibrators etc. I want no part of.
Fear will keep you alert!
That’s absolutely true! But, it has resulted in the government producing statistics that are made for insurance companies. Is a Corvette 10 times as dangerous as the average car? From the perspective of an insurance company it is. For you, it may not be. Is the 4 wheel drive version of the mid 90s F150 2 times as dangerous as the 2 wheel drive version? From the perspective of an insurance company it is. With 4 wheel drive you don’t need to wear a seat belt and you can drive home from the bar at 60 MPH on an ice covered road! Does that mean that if you get at the 4 wheel drive version of the truck that you’re twice as likely to die? That’s up to you. My point is that a lot of statistics out there are useless to an individual shopping for a safe vehicle. The Corvette should be a much safer car than a Toyota Yaris, and it can be if you drive both of them the same way.
The other problem is that the insurance industry is trying to reduce their cost, and a lot of their cost is from injuries, not from fatalities. If they can reduce their cost by reducing a lot of injuries in less severe crashes even if it increases fatalities in more severe crashes somewhat they’ll do this.
Modern pre small overlap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncukSYC1Zos
Old body on frame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIpoWIJJgpA
The older one smashes in a bit more. The old one has an unfair advantage because the engine hits the barrier a lot sooner and that helps bring the car to a stop faster. In an overlap crash it loses this advantage and the difference will be even greater.
You can look at the difference on IIHS moderate overlap crash tests. The older cars smash in more.
I think the rain sense wipers and auto dimming headlights would’ve been convenient also, but in order for me to get them the auto brakes, lane sensing and all that other stuff would have to be in that package so I opted out.
Many people shouldn’t drive and do so you answered that part of the question for us. Which is a big reason why people should pay attention to safety when buying a car. However, maybe you build roadsters - as unsafe and fabulous as they might be, you should still pay attention. If you ride a bicycle, you are a fool not to wear a helmet. We all make mistakes and there are bad drivers everywhere, and many with darkly tinted windows which is worse or as bad as wearing sunglasses at night or driving with cataracts or macular degeneration. When I’m buying a new car, I will look at everything about it, including its crash test rating. My personal feeling is that I wouldn’t buy a new car with a dull or dark color that is hard to see at night/twilight and I do not like cruise control or other sleep inducing features and I’m scared of driverless cars. I hate it that I have to assume the moron driving near my car is using their phone, which I typically assume in the first mile. That’s it.
but it doesn’t…or people ignore it and keep motoring on oblivious to what’s around them…
So what you seem to be saying is that the faster you stop in a collision, the less injured you’ll be?
That’s the exact opposite of reality.
Wrong again. The government is NOT the one collecting the statistics. It’s the insurance companies who are collecting the statistics. They are the ones who have the data. Years ago when I was doing consulting I worked for a couple insurance companies doing just that. There are companies like NexisLexis that warehouse a lot of this information.
I hate to tell you this…but if you reduce serious injuries you are also reducing deaths. It’s called keeping the car safer. That’s what insurance companies want.
Where do you keeping getting this crap info from.
Watch the following video. Please note that the new cars protect the occupants better then the older cars in every crash.
Old Car vs Modern Car during Crash Test / Evolution of Car Safety - YouTube
… and–ultimately–that is what people should also want.
And they do. The IIHS has shown us what vehicles are safe and what aren’t. What came from this is that manufacturers are now making their vehicles SAFER because they were losing sales to other safer vehicles. As a whole - vehicles have become MUCH safer.
And that’s what gets people killed. The safest design is a stiff passenger cabin with crush zones front and rear. EXACTLY how cars are now designed.
Don’t know where he gets it from but the more he posts the deeper it gets just hope no one turns the wind machine on.
They never revealed what caused the crash in the first place but this is the remains of the Hyundai Veloster my co-worker’s 17yr old son was driving home from his HS graduation party. Found at 2am on a quiet 2 lane road where the best guess was he was going too fast turning onto the road and lost control. Went into a deep ditch on the drivers side at around 40mph.My dad takes that road several times a week in the afternoon as the back way home without much traffic.
So was he seriously injured? It looks like as designed the cabin held together except for the glass. If you can stay in the cabin, you are less likely to be killed.
Fatal single car accident.
Sorry to hear that. We have had several teens killed around here where they have been unbelted and get thrown from the car.