Crashworthiness refers to the ability of a vehicle to prevent injuries to the occupants in the event of a collision.
Structure and restraints (safety belts and airbags) are the main aspects of a vehicle’s design that determine its crashworthiness.
An efficient crashworthy vehicle design evenly distributes force from a crash over an increased period and distance.
The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) evaluates a vehicle's crashworthiness using five tests:
To determine the crashworthiness of a vehicle, the IIHS rates vehicles as good, acceptable, marginal, or poor, based on performance in these tests. The vehicles that perform best in the tests qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK, which has been awarded since the 2006 model year, or TOP SAFETY PICK+, which was inaugurated in 2013.
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