Multiple news agencies all over the United States have revealed in recent articles that the new crash test designed by the United States’ Insurance Institute For Highway Safety have brought to our attention and the attention of several drivers that most midsize luxury and near-luxury sedans are not as safe as we once believed them to be.

According to these articles, only three models out of the eleven models tested by the IIHS scored somewhat good ratings when they were exposed to the new crash tests.

The federal agency decided to focus the attention on exactly how these vehicles do when the front corners collide, instead of verifying the vehicle’s reaction when it collides head-on against another vehicle or random obstacle. Since some of the most dangerous collisions consist of an impact that is only felt by a quarter of the vehicle’s front end only, the IIHS decided to recreate this circumstance to make sure the vehicles tested are prepared to keep the driver safe under any circumstance. According to the news, the type of collision that is being recreated by this new test is one of the most deadly.

During the first 11 tests, it was noticed that most vehicles like the Acura TSX, the BMW 3 Series, the Volkswagen CC and the Lincoln MKZ unfortunately rated less than satisfactory, while the Lexus IS 250/350, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Audi A4 and the Lexus ES 350 had the worst ratings of all tested vehicles.

Both the Acura TL and the Volvo S60 achieved the best scores.

Reports concerned with more popular models of vehicles being exposed to this new test have not surfaced just yet. It’s not yet known if the federal agency will implement this new testing system to every new vehicle. More details on their decision should be available soon.

Concerns associated with the overlap crashes and how most fatal accidents in the past reportedly occurred because of these types of collision, the IIHS decided to test the luxury midsize sedans first. The agency hopes that carmakers will ensure their customers’ safety by increasing their vehicles’ safety features, which could be achieved if they start to design their cars with this crash test in mind.

According to the news, there have been more than 10,000 deaths associated with frontal crashes last year. Engineers decided to analyze data regarding real-world frontal crashes before designing this test, which should let researchers know exactly what factors are being responsible for people’s injuries.

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