IIHS: most mid-size SUVs don’t provide adequate protection for back seat riders

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) -A car crash certainly is not a pleasant experience, but it’s something you want to make sure you are always prepared to survive. The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is doing the work for you. It recently performed a moderate overlap test, testing 13 popular SUV’s that are on the roads today, seeing which provides the best protection for those in the back seat.

“We were measuring the likelihood of injury and we were looking at how well the restraint system controls dummy movement, including whether it keeps the dummy’s head away from hard services,” said David Harkey, president of IIHS.

The bottom-rated SUVs were:

Honda Pilot

Hyundai Palisade

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep Wrangler (four-door)

Mazda CX-9

Nissan Murano,

Top performers in the category were:

Ford Explorer

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Subaru Ascent

Tesla Model Y

The Chevrolet Traverse, Toyota Highlander and Volkswagen Atlas earned marginal ratings here.

“Three of the vehicles on our list, the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, and Jeep Wrangler had an issue we refer to as submarining. This is where the lap belt slides upward during the crash, off the pelvis and into the abdominal region,” said Harkey.

Consumers can take away a lot of information from these findings, especially those with families.

“When it comes to purchasing these cars whether it’s a truck or a car, definitely do your research prior to purchasing that vehicle to make sure that vehicle has the safety tools that you are looking for,” said Montrae Waiters, AAA spokesperson.

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