Back seat safety: Ford, Subaru, Tesla score highest in IIHS crash test

There is much room for improvement when it comes to the safety of back seat passengers in midsize crossovers, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study shows.

IIHS updated its moderate overlap front crash test by adding a rear passenger behind the driver to examine rear passenger protection. This led to only four of the 13 tested midsize crossovers earning a “good” rating: the Ford Explorer, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Subaru Ascent and Tesla Model Y.

The results show that knowledge of back seat safety isn’t limited to legacy automakers, Raul Arbelaez, vice president of the IIHS research center, told Automotive News.

“There is no secret sauce here. We know what needs to be done to properly restrain occupants and give them higher levels of protection,” Arbelaez said. “By having this new test criteria, it will force the auto industry to pay more attention to this crash mode.”

The Chevrolet Traverse, Toyota Highlander and Volkswagen Atlas earned “marginal” ratings in the test. The Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler four-door, Mazda CX-9 and Nissan Murano earned “poor” ratings.

“All these vehicles provide excellent protection for the driver,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “But only a handful extend that level of safety to the back seat.”

The risk of fatal injury is 46 percent higher for belted occupants in the rear seat in vehicles model year 2007 and beyond simply because restraint technologies have improved in the front seat only, a release said. IIHS updated its test after seeing back seat safety improvements trail behind those for front-seat occupants.

The back seat isn’t getting more dangerous, but rather safety advancements haven’t kept up with front-seat advances, Arbelaez said.

The new test uses a dummy that represents a small woman or 12-year-old to focus on avoiding injuries typically seen in back seat occupants.