IIHS Status Report

StatusInstitRuteeport Insurance Institute for Highway SafetyHighway Loss Data | Saving Ilmprioved vvehices le designs bring down death rates ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Vol. 50, No. 1 January 29, 2015 Death rates by make and model C rashes around football stadiums go up when the home team loses he chances of dying in a crash in a late-model vehicle have fallen by latTest IIHS calculations of driver death more than a third in three years, the rates show. Among 2011 models, a record nine vehicles have driver death rates of zero. However, the gap between the safest and riskiest models remains wide, and three cars have death rates exceeding 100 per million registered vehicle years. Improved vehicle designs and safety technology have a lot to do with the continuing decline in fatality risk. In a related study, Institute researchers estimated how much of the decline was due to changes in the vehicle leet during 1985-2012. hey found that vehicle changes — including improved structural designs, the addition of safety features and an evolving mix of vehicle types — were the main source of declining risk from 1993 through 2006. hese changes continued to contribute to later declines as well, though other factors such as the weak economy also appear to have played a role. A firefighter uses an extrication tool at the Vehicle Research Center during a First Responders Emergency Extrication event.