To receive an award from IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) is a pretty big thing! So, when we at Superior Kia found out that the 2011 Kia Sportage received an award from IIHS for Top Safety pick we were ecstatic!! Check out the press release below from Kia World!
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Picks 2011 Kia Sportage crossover vehicle as the 2010 Top Safety Pick!
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS, has chosen the 2011 Kia Sportage crossover vehicle -CUV as the 2010 Top Safety Pick in the category of small crossover vehicles. The ratings were based on side, frontal, rear, and rollover-including roof strength, tests for safety in an impact crash. The rating of “Good” is the highest rating achievable and the 2011 Kia Sportage safety record proves this.
Ratings from the Institute are based on results from frontal, side and rear impact crash tests, and for 2010 a good performance in a roof strength test – to measure protection in a rollover – also was required to win. Each vehicle’s overall evaluation was based on various measurements specific to each crash angle, and overall impact on crash test dummies inside the vehicle at the time of collision. All vehicles must have electronic stability control available to be eligible.
The 2011 Kia Sportage has joined the Soul crossover, Forte compact sedan, 2011 Sorento compact crossover utility vehicle and Sedona minivan which have all been named a “Top Safety Pick” by the US-based IIHS before. Kia Sedona minivan was the very first Kia vehicle in the States that won prestigious IIHS Top Safety Pick award. This was achieved back in 2006.
Like any other Kia car, the 2011 Sportage crossover is also equipped with a large number of standard safety features. Both trims () come outfitted with driver and passenger advanced front airbags, front seat-mounted side airbags and side-curtain airbags.
The 2011 Sportage is also equipped with front active headrests, four-wheel Antilock Brake System ABS, ESC system, Electronic Brake Distribution -EBD, Tire Pressure Monitoring System -TPMS and Brake Assist System -BAS. There are also Downhill Brake Control -DBC and Hill Start Assist Control -HAC available on both Sportage trims.
Interested in taking a look at the new 2011 Kia Sportage? Head on over to your local Cincinnati new Kia dealer and we would be happy to take you for a test drive!
The video has not be released yet of them testing the new Sportage but check out the IIHS testing the latest Sorento!
Believe it or not there are a lot of factors that go into getting a top safety pick from IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.) I was actually surprised to see how much goes into it and I found this video to be interesting and informative. So, of course I had to share it with you. I think you would be surprised to find that the IIHS has been around for more than 50 years and it’s true that automakers are making cars much much better than they used to. Automakers and working harder and harder every year on keeping you and your family safe while you are driving. Check out this article from them and watch the video. I think you’ll find it just as interesting as I did!
27 winners of 2010 TOP SAFETY PICK award; new requirement to win is good rating for protection in rollovers
ARLINGTON, VA — Nineteen cars and 8 SUVs earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s TOP SAFETY PICK award for 2010. For the first time, good performance in a roof strength test to measure protection in a rollover is required to win. TOP SAFETY PICK recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rear, and now rollover crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also must have electronic stability control, which research shows significantly reduces crash risk. This is the second time the Institute has tightened criteria since announcing the first recipients in 2005.
Holy Moly Mackrell!! I’m sure most of you have seen this on the news already but I work a lot so I’m the last one to see anything! If you haven’t seen this yet then you are in for a treat. It once again proves why driving the speed limit and wearing a seat belt are so important. Thanks to Automotive Addict for sharing this with me. Don’t be driving you’re new Kia like this ok?!?
Captured on a state trooper’s dashboard camera was a high-speed crash in Dayton, Ohio in a 1987 Pontiac Firebird. Reportedly witnesses saw the Firebird flying pass them on Interstate I-675 at 100mph previously before the crash. The cruiser’s camera was able to capture the Firebird literally flying into the air after hitting a guard rail then shattering into as many as 4 major pieces ejecting the driver. Unbelievably the driver survived the crash and was listed in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital’s ICU. Talking about real dukes of hazard type stuff here!
Can you believe that? At least the driver is ok but that was totally insane!
Car accidents are a money grubbing business. They cost a lot of money. Money for you, money for states, insurance providers and more! As a matter of fact car accidents cost this country 99 billion annually!
It should be no surprise to you that this is the point where I tell you that you should be wearing your seat belt. It doesn’t matter if you are just driving around the block you should put your seat belt on the first second you sit down in the car.
Consumer Reports‘ Lisa Barth wrote a great article about how much money car accidents cost and I wanted to share it with you. Have you been in a car accident lately? How much did it cost you?
Every 10 seconds someone is injured in a car crash and every 12 minutes someone dies. Now, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that in a one-year period, the cost of medical care and loss productivity from motor-vehicle injuries is more than $99 billion. This averages to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the U.S. That $99 billion breaks down to $70 billion for fatal and nonfatal injuries in motor vehicles, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists. Medical expenses account for $17 billion of the total.
This data was based on 2005 numbers, which were the most current available on injuries and cost.
The study also found that more men were killed or injured (70 percent) than women (52 percent) in motor-vehicle accidents; injuries and deaths in men represented 74 percent of all costs. Teens represented 28 percent of fatal and nonfatal injuries and 31 percent of the costs. Motorcyclists represented six percent of fatalities and injuries, but accounted for 12 percent of the costs due to more severe injuries.
Overall, the number of fatalities caused by vehicle crashes has declined in recent years. In 2008, 37,261 people were killed, which was the lowest number in decades. And it looks like the number of fatalities will be even lower for 2009. Still, there is more that can be done to prevent motor-vehicle accidents, deaths, and injuries. The CDC notes a few policies that would help reduce costs and save lives, including:
Improving teen driver safety with programs such as graduated driver licensing (GDL), which limits the time and conditions under which a teen can drive in the early stages.
Increasing safety-belt use by making laws that mandate usage primary. This means that a driver or passenger can be pulled over solely for not buckling up. Currently the safety belt usage rate is 84 percent. The CDC notes that if the rate were to increase to 90 percent in all states, the country would save more than $5 billion in costs.
Improving child passenger safety by strengthening the laws governing the required use of child seats, educating parents on their correct use and installation, and distributing seats to those who can’t afford them.
Reducing drunk driving deaths by implementing stricter policies, such as increased sobriety checkpoints and the use of ignition interlock devices for those convicted of DUI.
I wanted to share this story with you because it pulled at my heart strings. Yes I do have a heart. Please understand that unintended acceleration of a vehicle can happen to any car you may be driving. I am not bad mouthing Toyota at all. I just thought you might like this story and it’s happy ending for a man wrongfully convicted. Thanks to USA Today for sharing it.
A Minnesota man imprisoned after an accident involving a ruaway 1996 Toyota Camry — a model recalled for speed control issues, although his was not one of the ones recalled — will go free.
Earlier today, after a judge ordered Koua Fong Lee free pending a new trial, prosecutors said they will not seek to try Lee again. So he’ll be freed.
Since the day of the accident, Lee has said his car sped out of control. Three people died in the 2006 crash.
ABC News said Lee rejected a plea agreement earlier today that would have set him free, but would have kept his conviction in tact and would have kept him from driving for 10 years. He rejected the plea agreement, maintaining he was innocent.
The four-day hearings to determine whether Lee should get a new trial attracted scores of demonstrators, who demanded he be released immediately.
Lee was convicted for a 2006 crash after his Camry sped up an exit ramp off the highway, and hit a Oldsmobile. The driver, Javis Adams, and his 10-year-old son died. Adams’ seven-year-old niece, Devyn Bolton, survived but died a year later from her injuries.
Lee told police at the time that he pressed the brakes repeatedly but the car would not stop.
His attorney, Brent Schafer, took up the case following Toyota’s sudden acceleration recalls this past fall and winter. An expert Schafer hired said the brake filaments in Lee’s car exploded during the accident, indicating the brake lights were on even though the car was accelerating.
I just had to share this video with you because in my head I can not wrap around how he does this every single day. That would drive me completely mad! I will never ever again for as long as I live complain about all the stuff in my garage because this man’s car is 58 inches wide and his garage is only a roomy 60 inches. An inch each side is enough, right?
I can not even begin to explain how dangerous it is to leave your kids or pets in the car for any given amount of time. It’s just stupid and reckless. You have no idea what could happen in 60 seconds. Not only could your car be stolen with your child in it, but in these hot summer months you could kill your child or pet before you know it. I was really impressed with this story fromConsumer Reportsand felt compared to share it with you as it is something that is very close to my heart. It just breaks my heart to watch the news and hear that a mother left their child in the car in this summer heat only to lose that child.
Summer can be a fun time of year with warm weather, school is out, and everyone heads outdoors. But it also means that parents need to be extra vigilant to keep tabs on their children and help keep them safe. The child safety group Kids and Cars have documented 100 non-traffic fatalities so far this year–35 frontovers, 32 backovers, and 18 related to heat. Sadly, we can expect more tragic accidents as injuries and deaths peak in the summer months. Just last week seven children died from heat stroke after being left in the car.
Here are some tips that everyone can do to help prevent such tragedies.
Never leave a kid alone in a car. In the summer, there are significant risks, with the interior temperature rising quickly, and children being particularly vulnerable to temperature changes. Beyond temperature, there are security concerns and risk that a child could disengage a parking brake or otherwise move the vehicle.
Check your car before you leave, especially if you have a change in your normal routine. To avoid accidentally leaving a child in the car, some people use a stuffed animal in the front seat as a reminder that a child is in the rear. You can also put an essential item like your purse or briefcase in the back seat, so you know you have to open the back door.
Before you pull in or out of a driveway, check all around to make sure no children are in the way and proceed slowly, with music off. A backup camera can help if you have a large vehicle.
Lock up your car. To avoid children playing in the car when it is unattended, keep it locked with the windows up when you are not using it.
Look around. If you are in a parking lot, casually look around to see if any children are left in their vehicles. If so, take action and call 911 immediately.
Well it seems like we are getting closer and closer to manufacturer’s putting black boxes in our new vehicles. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it’s to big brotherish or do you think it’s for the better of the community? Well here’s the latest report from AutoBlog.
Intel is currently hard at work on the next generation of vehicle event data recorders, the infamous black boxes that Congress has clamored for since Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems dominated headlines earlier this year. According to The New York Times, these new black boxes may do a lot more than just record things like vehicle speed and whether you’re wearing your seatbelt. Intel’s prototype will incorporate GPS and all of a vehicle’s onboard cameras for real-time mapping of the road conditions.
As if that’s not intrusive enough, Intel proposes that the EDRs record up to 30 seconds of interior video as well. While this level of information would likely prove helpful in determining who’s at fault in an accident, there’s the prickly question of who owns that information once it’s stored in the vehicle. Does it belong to vehicle manufacturers as it does now? Should the government be able to lay claim to it without a warrant? Will insurance companies be able to use EDR data any way they see fit, or does it belong to the owner of the vehicle? This could get ugly, and it probably will before all’s said and done.
I came across this article the other day and it got me thinking. It’s not that it’s not a bad idea but is it a good idea? I wanted to hear your thoughts on what congress is thinking about. Is this too big brotherish or is this the smartest thing ever? What are your thoughts? Yes you should NEVER drink and drive in your new or used car but could this be too far? Let’s discuss.
The New York Times reports that the U.S. Congress is considering a six-fold increase in the annual funding of in-car devices to detect drunk drivers. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program’s budget would increase from $2 million per year to $12 million for the next five years, likely expediting the development of an effective device.
296diggsdiggHistory suggests that such a device would save thousands of lives. In 2008 alone, nearly 12,000 people died in alcohol-impaired car crashes. Many of those deaths would likely be preventable if there were a way for a vehicle system to seamlessly detect elevated alcohol levels in drivers. Scientists are working on a device that could instantly detect a driver’s blood alcohol level by reading alcohol levels on the breath or use a light beam to assess alcohol levels on the skin.
Program Director Susan Ferguson says that said device should be “very fast, very accurate, highly reliable and precise,” adding that achieving a high level of precision is going to take a lot of money. Ferguson feels that the alcohol detection system could be the safety equivalent of the next seatbelt, suggesting that it could save 8,000 to 9,000 lives per year.
A total of 13 automakers are behind the project as well, and the goal is for drivers to voluntarily add the mechanism to their vehicles as an added safety measure. We’re guessing that adding such a system could greatly reduce the cost to insure the vehicle, giving drivers a financial incentive to add the device. Of course, adding the cost of the device to new cars will likely cost automakers (and in turn, consumers) a fair bit of money, but the hope is that reduced insurance costs could cover the difference. – AutoBlog
Let us know what you think. Leave a comment. We’re taking a poll. Is this good? Or bad?
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To receive an award from IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) is a pretty big thing! So, when we at Superior Kia found out that the 2011 Kia Sportage received an award from IIHS for Top Safety pick we were ecstatic!! Check out the press release below from Kia World!
