Half-Century Of Safety Improvements Revealed In Crash Test

Results were “night and day,” in a 65-kph offset crash demonstration between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu.

The test crash, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in September and just released on video, demonstrates the strides made in keeping drivers and passengers safe in the 50 years since U.S. insurers organized the IIHS.

In a real-world collision similar to this test, occupants of the new model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy.

“It was night and day, the difference in occupant protection,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “What this test shows is that automakers don’t build cars like they used to. They build them better.”

The crash test was conducted at an event to celebrate the contributions of auto insurers to highway safety progress over 50 years. Beginning with the Institute’s 1959 founding, insurers have maintained the resolve, articulated in the 1950s, to “conduct, sponsor, and encourage programs designed to aid in the conservation and preservation of life and property from the hazards of highway accidents.”

The video and still images can be viewed at the IIHS website, www.iihs.org.

A decade after the Institute was founded, insurers directed the organization to begin collecting data on crashes and the cost of repairing vehicles damaged in crashes. To lead this work and the Institute’s expanded research program, insurers named a new president, William Haddon Jr., who already was a pioneer in the field of highway safety. In welcoming Dr. Haddon, Thomas Morrill of State Farm said, “The ability to bring unbiased scientific data to the table is extremely valuable.” The scientific approach ushered in by Dr. Haddon is a hallmark of Institute work. It’s why the Institute launched the Highway Loss Data Institute in 1972–to collect and analyze insurance loss results and to provide consumers with model-by-model comparisons.

Another Institute milestone was the 1992 opening of the Vehicle Research Center. Since then, the Institute has conducted much of the research that has contributed to safer vehicles on U.S. roads. At the anniversary event, current Institute chairman Gregory Ostergren of American National Property and Casualty summed up a commitment to continue what fellow insurers began in 1959: “On this golden anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, we celebrate this organization’s accomplishments toward safer drivers, vehicles, and roadways. We salute the vision of the Institute’s founders and proudly continue their commitment to highway safety.”

NACE and CARS Events Shift to October Date

Organizers have announced that NACE 2010 will take place October 10 to 13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The new dates mean that the NACE autobody show and conference, and the companion CARS mechanical repair and Auto Glass Week that make up Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW), have moved from overlapping with the SEMA and AAPEX Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week shows. However, ASRW will remain at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

In a statement, Ron Pyle, president and CEO of the sponsoring Automotive Service Association, explained the move this way: “It is high time for the automotive service and repair market to be served by a dedicated event that caters directly to professional shop owners and technicians. Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) will focus entirely on automotive service and repair businesses that are on the front lines serving the motoring public.”