Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a U.S. nonprofit organization funded by auto insurers, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that still occur. It carries out research and produces ratings for popular passenger vehicles as well as for certain consumer products such as child car booster seats. It also conducts research on road design and traffic regulations, and has been involved in promoting policy decisions.

Frontal crash tests

Moderate overlap frontal test

The Institute's front crash test differs from that of the American government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program in that its tests are offset. This test exposes 40% of the front of the vehicle to an impact with a deformable barrier at approximately 40 mph (64 kph). Because only 40% of the vehicle's front must stand the impact, it shows the structural strength better than the NHTSA's full-width testing does. The IIHS began this crash test in January 1995.