The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) constantly conducts crash tests to ensure that manufacturers offer models that are safe for the general public.
And the tests that vehicles are subjected to are often revised and improved to reflect new realities. One of those realities is the safety of rear-seat passengers, and not just rear-seat passengers. For some time now, the agency has been evaluating the performance of smaller, lighter dummies to represent a woman's body and that of a 12-year-old child.
With these considerations in mind, the most recent battery of tests on mid-size sedans saw the Honda Accord come out on top in its segment.
According to the new IIHS data, only the Honda representative earned the highest overall rating of "good" for rear passenger safety out of the six models evaluated.
The Subaru Outback is the second safest car with an "acceptable" rating, followed by the Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry, which received "marginal" ratings. The Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5 and Volkswagen Jetta were all rated "mediocre".
“In most of the midsize cars we tested, the rear dummy slid forward, or ‘submarined,’ beneath the lap belt, causing it to ride up from the pelvis onto the abdomen and increasing the risk of internal injuries,” said David Harkey, IIHS president, in the report analyzing the results. "In all three vehicles that received a 'poor' rating, the rear dummy measurements also indicated likely injuries to the head or neck, as well as the chest."
The new IIHS data includes a new moderate overlap frontal crash test (the percentage of the front that makes contact with the other vehicle). This test measures the impact when the front corners of two vehicles travelling in opposite directions collide at a speed of 40 mph (64 km/h).
The IIHS found that under these conditions and with the new dummies, the risk of fatal injury for belted rear passengers is now higher than for front passengers in newer vehicles.
The IIHS specifies that to receive a good rating, the rear dummy must not pose an excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, or thigh, and must be "correctly positioned" during the crash without trying to reach the ground. In the Accord, IIHS data showed "no increased risk of injury, and the rear restraints controlled the dummy's movements well".
Note that the Accord has been completely redesigned for 2023, which means it has a newer design than its competitors.