Bigger car = safer car (and other IIHS news)

​The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently released three studies you won't want to miss if you're planning to add a new car to the garage – or if you're always in a hurry.

 1) Women are disproportionately injured in crashes. When it comes to car crashes, women are more likely to suffer serious injuries than men – but it's not because of their physical stature. A new IIHS report shows that, as a group, women tend to drive smaller, lighter cars, which offer less protection in crashes. In addition, they're more likely to be driving the "struck" vehicle in collisions, also resulting in more severe injuries.

Some highlights of the study:

• 70% of women crashed in cars versus 60% of men. In contrast, 20% of men crashed in pickups versus fewer than 5% of women. Women and men crashed in minivans and SUVs in equal proportion.
  

• Men are involved in more fatal crashes; however, on a per-crash basis, women are 20-28% more likely to be killed. Those differences for women mostly disappeared, though, when adjusted to compare crashes in similar vehicles.
  

• Men are more likely to be driving the striking vehicle in front-to-rear and front-to-side crashes. The driver of the striking vehicle is at lower risk for injury in those types of crashes.
  

2) More new cars earn top safety marks. In 2021, 90 models earned Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ awards from IIHS – significantly more than met the standards in 2020.

To make the cut, cars needed to receive a minimum "good" rating in crashworthiness tests, an "advanced" or "superior" rating for front crash-prevention features and have the option for improved headlight features (better lighting, less glare). To bump up to the Top Safety Pick+ designation, models needed to include the better headlights automatically across all trim levels.

Manufacturers Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia, Genesis) and Volvo racked up the most winners. Unlike last year, when no minivans or pickups were Top Safety Picks or Picks+, the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Ram 1500 crew cab landed on the 2021 list.

If you're planning to take those (or any) cars for a test drive, don't miss PEMCO's Seven things you never thought about when buying a car (but wish you had).

3) Let's all just slow down. A 6-mph-hour reduction in speed can make a life or death difference – literally. That's the finding of a newly released study that measured the impact, if any, of incremental increases in speed on the severity of injuries suffered in a crash.

Using identical vehicles and crash test dummies fitted with hundreds of sensors, the study compared likely injuries in a 40-mph crash versus crashes at 50 and 56 mph. As you might expect, there was a significant difference between 40 and 50 mph on the amount of intrusion into the cabin space. But the real surprise came when testers increased speed from 50 to 56 mph. At the faster speed, the dummy's sensors registered severe neck injuries and likely fractures in the long bones of the lower leg.

The upshot: The extra seconds drivers might save by speeding just a little aren't worth the risk. IIHS, AAA and Humanetics (a crash-test dummy manufacturer) teamed up for the study.