Five models recognized by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
TORONTO, ON (Dec. 15, 2011) - Volvo leadership in car safety is confirmed in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) 2012 Top Safety Pick awards. Five Volvo models were named 2012 Top Safety Pick winners, a total unsurpassed by any other luxury car brand. Top Safety Pick winners announced this morning included the Volvo C30, S60, S80, XC60 and XC90.
"Safety has been at the foundation of Volvo's vision since the very beginning," said Jeff Pugliese, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of Canada. "The comfort and wellbeing of our vehicles' occupants is of the utmost importance to us and something we work very hard to achieve."
The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting occupants involved in four collision scenario results, including front, side, rollover, and rear crashes. Frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph (64 km/h) frontal offset crash tests. Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph (50 km/h). The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. To earn a good rating for rollover protection, the car roof must withstand a force of four times the vehicle's weight before reaching five inches of crush. Rear crash protection is rated using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph (32 km/h).
Auto brake results in fewer accidents
Earlier this year, the benefits of the groundbreaking City Safety technology - featuring automatic braking in low speed situations - were documented in another IIHS report stating a reduction of the collision frequency with up to 22 percent. The IIHS study of insurance claims involving a Volvo XC60 shows that City Safety reduces the costs for personal injury claims with 51 percent - while vehicle repair costs were lowered by more than 20 percent. A similar study by the Swedish insurance company Volvia shows that Volvo cars equipped with automatic braking are involved in 22 percent fewer rear end accidents than cars without auto brake.
* Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Other luxury brands receiving Top Safety Pick awards included Mercedes-Benz (5), Audi (4), Acura (3), Infiniti (2), BMW (2) and Lexus (2).
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden. The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 41 Volvo automobile retailers across the country. Volvo lead the list of luxury car brands in the 2012 Top Safety Picks by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), with winners including the Volvo C30, S60, S80, XC60 and XC90.
