Only Two SUVs Earn "Good" IIHS Rating In New Seat Belt Reminder Tests

The IIHS wants seat belt reminders to be longer and louder than ever.

IIHS New Seat Belt Reminder Evaluations

Jacob Oliva

By: Jacob Oliva

Mar 31, 2022 at 7:44pm ET

Add Motor1.com as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Seat belts save lives – that isn't arguable at this point. But what if the driver and passengers weren't wearing one during an accident? That's the blunder that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) aims to fix with its first seat belt reminder evaluations.

And as it turns out, only two SUVs/crossovers in the US earned a "Good" rating from the agency – both from the same automaker.

Out of all the 26 SUVs tested, only the 2022 Subaru Ascent and 2021-22 Forester got "Good" ratings from the new program from the IIHS.

Gallery: 2022 Subaru Ascent Onyx Edition

2022 Subaru Ascent Onyx Edition Front Angle

2022 Subaru Ascent Onyx Edition Side

Meanwhile, the 2022 Hyundai Palisade and Tucson, along with the 2021-22 Nissan Murano, 2022 Pathfinder, and 2021-22 Rogue, all get "Acceptable" ratings. The rest of the vehicles tested got "Marginal" and "Poor" ratings from the IIHS.

Notably, all of the vehicles evaluated fulfilled the IIHS criteria for the pitch or audio frequency of the audible alarm, although a number of other concerns detracted from their overall scores.

To get a good rating, the audible alarm must be loud enough to be heard over the background noise in the car's cabin, among other requirements. The visual and aural reminders must persist for at least 90 seconds if the seat belt of an occupied front-row seat remains unbuckled. The reminders must continue for at least 30 seconds if a previously fastened second-row belt is unbuckled. For the second row, a visual signal that appears when the driver starts the car is also required.

IIHS Working For Consumer's Benefit:

Pedestrian Detection Tech Doesn't Work Very Well In The Dark: IIHS

IIHS Says No Automaker Meets New Criteria For Self-Driving Safeguards

What do you think?

View

Comments

Vehicles that meet all of the front-row requirements but fall short of one or more of the second-row requirements receive an Acceptable rating. Vehicles that fail to meet any or all of the front row requirements but have an auditory alert for both the driver and front-seat passenger that lasts eight seconds or longer receive a Marginal rating. Vehicles with shorter-than-eight-second reminders receive a Poor rating, regardless of whether they match any of the other criteria.

"Most of these problems don’t require new hardware," says IIHS Senior Test Coordinator Sean O'Malley, who conducted the evaluations. "Even among the vehicles that earn Poor ratings, it's possible that simply lengthening the duration of the audible alert could do the trick."

Source: IIHS

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motor1.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The Motor1.com Team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@motor1.com

View all comments ( )

Popular

12 Cars With Names That Make Absolutely No Sense

BMW Kept This Hatchback A Secret For Decades

Bugatti Restores One-Off Veyron With A Mirror-Like Aluminum Body

The Gas BMW M3 Isn't Dead: Next-Gen Prototype Roars