Which Car is the Safest to Drive?

When it comes to car safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety better known as the IIHS is where cars are flipped twisted, crashed and destroyed to find out which car is award the Top Safety Pick rating for 2013.

Firstly let’s have a quick definition; automobile safety is the study and practice of design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design. One of the first formal academic studies into improving vehicle safety was by Cornell Aeronautical Labs of Buffalo, New York. The main conclusion of their extensive report is the crucial importance of seat belts and padded dashboards. However, the primary vector of traffic-related deaths and injuries is the disproportionate mass and velocity of an automobile compared to that of the predominant victim, the pedestrian.[citation needed] In the United States a pedestrian is injured by an automobile every 8 minutes, and are 1.5 times more likely than a vehicle's occupants to be killed in an automobile crash per outing.

The iconic Beetle has earned the coveted IIHS Top Safety Pick rating for 2013. The annual rating recognizes those vehicles that perform in the Institute's moderate overlap frontal crash, side impact and rollover, plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. The IIHS only awards Top Safety Pick ratings to vehicles that are fitted with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and head protection airbags.

There are plenty of reasons why the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle performed so well in the IIHS tests. This vehicle was designed top to bottom with safety in mind. Its rigid body structure uses ultra-high-strength, hot-formed steels in the crash-load paths as well as top-notch laser welds. In addition to standard Electronic Stability Control, the Beetle also features Volkswagen’s Intelligent Crash Response System. This system automatically shuts off the fuel pump, unlocks the doors, and turns on the vehicle’s hazard lights under certain collision situations.

• Volkswagen is passionate about safety,” said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “To have IIHS recognize the Volkswagen Beetle as a Top Safety Pick is a great statement for the brand. The fact that we now have nine 2013 Top Safety Picks is a testament to our commitment to continually improve the safety and quality of our vehicles.”

The Beetle isn’t the only Volkswagen vehicle to earn a 2013 IHHS Top Safety Pick rating. Nine Volkswagen vehicles have received a 2013 IHHS Top Safety Pick award. In addition to the Beetle, the other vehicles that also hold this honor are the CC 2.0T, Jetta, Jetta SportWagon, Passat, Tiguan, Touareg, 4-door Golf, and GTI models. The Volkswagen Passat was recognized with the highest safety rating, the Top Safety Pick +.

This year there is a clear winner for car safety, with nine cars in total being awarded the IIHS top safety pick, Volkswagen takes safety to the next level. Although having an esthetically appealing car is always important, safety is always at the top of the list for all consumers when shopping for a new automobile.

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