Chevrolet, Lexus, Subaru and Toyota Score Five-Star Safety Ratings

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently awarded its top rating of five stars to a number of new Chevrolet, Lexus, Subaru and Toyota vehicles. Kicking Tires writes, “NHTSA's crash tests examine vehicles' safety performance in frontal and side collisions, as well as roof strength in rollover accidents.”
Rear- and four-wheel drive models of the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab earned five stars overall, as well as five stars in front and side crash tests and four stars in rollover tests. The redesigned 2014 Lexus IS 250 also scored five stars overall, with a four-star rating in front crash tests and five stars for its performance in both side-impact and rollover tests for both rear- and all-wheel drive models. NHTSA’s latest top-performing vehicles also include the redesigned 2014 Subaru Forester and the 2014 Prius V, which performed identically in government crash tests. The Forester and Prius V earned five-star ratings overall, as well as five stars in side crash tests and four stars in front-impact and rollover tests.
While many recently-tested vehicles earned top ratings, Chevrolet’s new heavy-duty truck fell a bit short. When equipped with side-curtain and side-impact air bags, the rear-wheel drive Silverado 2500 crew cab scored four stars overall in NHTSA’s tests. Without side-curtain and side-impact air bags, the rear-wheel drive Silverado 2500 crew cab earned three stars overall. Regular cab versions of the Silverado 2500 performed worse, earning just two stars overall.

Why Don't Teens Want a Driver's License?

In a recent study, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that just 44 percent of teenagers get a driver’s license within one year of reaching the eligible age to do so. The study also found that 54 percent of all teens have a driver’s license by their 18th birthday. AAA says in a press release that these recent findings contrast with 20 years ago, when more than two-thirds of individuals had a driver’s license by the age of 18.
AAA says that safety experts find these statistics troubling, as “young adult drivers are missing the benefits intended by graduated drivers licensing (GDL).”  According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, GDL is a way to gradually introduce driving to newly-licensed individuals; GDL typically starts with a restricted learner’s permit, and then a limited license that restricts the newly-licensed driver from driving after dark or with peers.
AAA Director of State Relations Justin McNaull says the benefit of teens getting a driver’s license before 18 allows novice drivers to gain experience driving under parental supervision and in generally lower-risk situations.
According to the press release, the AAA Foundation found in past studies “that states with comprehensive GDL systems have experienced a 38 percent decrease in fatal crashes involving 16 year-olds and a 40 percent reduction in injury crashes.”
Further research shows that despite the drop in teenagers getting driver's licenses, teenage driving fatalities are on the rise. The Washington Post cites data from the Governors Highway Safety Administration, which found a rise of 197 percent in highway fatalities among 16- and 17-year-olds in the first half of 2012.
According to the study, the following primary reasons were cited as reasons for teens putting off licensure: not having a car, not needing to drive to get around, gas being too expensive, driving being too expensive or simply not getting around to it. The study also found that teens in low-income households were less likely to get a license than their counterparts in households with an income of $100,000 or more, and that more non-Hispanic white teens are more likely to get a license than non-Hispanic black or Hispanic teens.

Toyota RAV4 Fares Poorly in IIHS Small Overlap Crash Test

Even with extra time to prepare, the 2013 Toyota RAV4 didn't do well in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap frontal crash test. In a press release, the IIHS says they initially delayed crash testing the RAV4 to allow Toyota to enhance the vehicle’s safety structure.
According to the IIHS, the changes made were not sufficient, and the RAV4 earned a score of Poor in the new safety test. The agency reports that “the driver's space was seriously compromised by intruding structure, and the dummy's left foot was trapped by crushed and buckled sheet metal in the footwell.” Additionally, “the dummy's head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved more than 7 inches to the right, resulting in little airbag cushioning for the chest.” Finally, the agency reports that excessive movement allowed by the safety belt resulted in the dummy’s head hitting the dashboard.
The small overlap frontal crash test is IIHS’ newest safety test. It is designed to evaluate a vehicle’s ability to protect its occupants in a collision where the front corner of the vehicle hits an object like a pole or another car.
 
Failure to earn a score of Good in the small overlap frontal crash test means the 2013 RAV4 does not earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus status. Still, the RAV4 is designated a Top Safety Pick for its scores of Good in all of the other IIHS safety tests.
The New York Times corresponded with Toyota via email, and they report that the automaker says it is “looking at a range of solutions to achieve greater crash performance in this area.”
The only two compact SUVs that have been earned the Top Safety Pick Plus designation so far are the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and redesigned 2014 Subaru Forester.