Independent U.S. Insurance Group rates the Prius v & Camry lowest in Head On Collision Safety !

If you watched the whole video, it was explained the test is too new to change the top safety pick yet, but it will happen later.

I watched the video very carefully and the Ford car scored the test well because the front wheel was totally sheared off and ended up outside the cabin and pushed the car away from the barrier. Most the damage in Toyotas was done by the front wheel that didn't detach easily and produced intrusion.

Same was in the previous installation of the same test:

Notice how the safe cars have their front wheels ripped out outside cabin.

Toyota could easily improve the test results by putting the front wheel suspension parts on a diet, but not sure if that will serve the drivers well.

One more thing, technically, this is NOT a study with scientific merit, as only one crash was done per model. The differences could be due to test variability alone.

 

Okay so it's a top safety pick now and won't be in the future, sometime. Thanks.

iPad ? HD

 

Camry is still also "top safety pick" per
IIHS-HLDI: Toyota Camry
.

Man... now that I've finally watched the videos, this is a brutal test. Just look at the damage to even the top performers.

 

Toyota has lots of work ahead. I think the key is to build frontal structure that takes it as a glancing blow rather than to beef up the entire front/side. See how the Fusion shifts over at initial impact.

Unfortunately, there's not much time to make changes before the 2014's arrive.

 

I think that this test is very unique. If you hit a pole closer to the middle of the front end, then the car will do much better as it will meet the criteria for the existing engineering tested. What are the odds that someone will hit a pole at such a particular spot? Next, they should test for possible damage from parts falling from airplanes that pass over the freeway.

Another thing to consider is that the test is very new and very few cars have been tested. As more cars are tested with this new test, more will fail. This is just the beginning. And as with other test, most cars will be redesigned to pass these test by IIHS.

 

Sorry about your friend. It would help if you told what car she was in. Thanks.

 

I've seen this accident on New Years eve at 3 in the morning the kid across the street hit something offset in a Pontiac Fiero and the left front wheel made a dent in the middle of the driver's seat cushion frame. His dad and I went to see the car in the wrecking yard the next day and came away shaking our heads at how the kid came out of it with just a broken ankle.

The quick fix may be to beef up the front wheel wells in the rear with an angular support that deflects the wheel outward and has it rip off the front fender sheet metal. More weight, less MPG.

 

Next time, just aim for a head-on!

 

No way!
The problem is, that you don't have time to think and "aim"

 

yes way. If you are paying attention, you have much better odds of having time to aim.

 

Good luck with that.
I had small accident 10 years ago on my Dodge Colt. I was paying attention on a local street in raining day. The cross street had an ambulance stopped there, with flashing but no siren. Our street was on green light. The car in front of me suddenly saw that flash, and break very hard. Because I was paying attention and had some time to react, I steered away, hit the car with my front lights area, with side panels damaged. If I did not pay attention, I would have just hit it straight, with minor bumper damage.
When things like this happen suddenly, all I did was react, there is truly no way I could think, aim and make the best choice. Others maybe better than me, but I doubt it.

 

Paying attention means more than noticing the ambulance. It was raining right? Gotta keep more distance from the car ahead of you.

 

I think 3 cars distance at 30-35 mph is reasonable, even for a rainy day. There are certain special situations that you can't always prepare for. If you assume anyone walking on sidewalk may suddenly cross street, then you probably can not drive more than 15 mph on any street when pedestrians are present. We always make certain assumptions.

 

How late would you have been if you had been 5 car lengths behind instead of 3?

 

I can't believe people are really criticizing AllenZ here - maybe his accident was theoretically avoidable; maybe not. His point is that we can't predict the unpredictable, and accidents can happen VERY quickly, regardless of how perfect a driver you are. If you CAN predict the future, and if you ALWAYS maintain a 5-car-length following distance, please extend some grace to us mere mortals, and let me know where you tend to drive, so I don't get stuck behind you. Also, I see you're from Maine - have you ever driven in Boston? If you maintained a 5-car-length following distance, you'd never get anywhere - period.

AllenZ - you make a good point. We can never prepare for EVERYTHING, so we just need to do the best we can and take reasonable precautions.

 

3 car lengths at 30-35 mph is about 1 second. Allowing one second to see a problem, recognize it as a problem and then react by steering or braking to avoid it is not enough time. A good standard is to allow 3 seconds, unfortunately you can't reasonably do that in heavy traffic, but one second is still not safe, no matter what the reason.

 

I lived in Boston for many years. Maintaining a safe distance has been shown to IMPROVE the flow of traffic. If you were behind me, you got to work sooner.

True, we can't prepare for everything. We can however maintain as following distance which allows us to stop if someone in front of us stops suddenly. In fact we are legally obligated to do so. If you don't you will be found at fault for an accident.

 

This is a common fallacy. Below has parts of another post of mine:

The images that stick in my mind, are from an episode of Top Gear where they had various crash models with Euro NCAP 5star, 4star, 3star, and 2star ratings.​

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The Toyota Avensis (Scion tC is a derivitive of it) got 5 stars. The door still opened, meaning no damage to where the important bits (you) are. Nothing in the cabin moved or shifted.​

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The 4star Proton, the door was barely usable. The brake pedal was shoved forwards which would break your foot/ankle. The steering wheel was pushed forwards which would break your ribs, collapse a lung, brake your hands, less cushion for your head if flung forwards, etc... And this is a 4 star, B grade car. If a 4star does all that damage, it baffles me why anyone would buy anything less, or why car companies are even allowed to make cars like that.​

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The landrover, a classic "big SUV that will save me no matter what I hit", was absimal. The frame around the top of the door was deformed. Look at the second pic of the rover. The roof and the door are misaligned by a good 8inches. The top is crumpled. The door itself is completely destroyed. Look inside the car, the seat moved forwards, the steering wheel, the pedals, everything. There is a 6-8in gap between the seat and the metal of the car. Can you fit in 6-8in? Well you will after you hit something in that car whether your body wants to or not. And guess what, that is a 3 STAR CAR!!! Wth?!​

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And to those that think they dont make cars like that anymore, well a Ford Ranger is a 2 star car. No thankyou.​

 

Do you know how many stars a Prius is?