IIHS tests crashworthiness of convertible car models

[Jeanum]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its first crash test results of convertible models, just in time for the summer driving season in the U.S. The gist of the results is that a convertible is not as safe as a comparably equipped non-convertible model, although convertibles tend to have similar death rates to non-convertibles as convertibles are typically driven fewer miles. The IIHS also makes a point of emphasizing that all bets are off if you don't wear your seatbelt. I thought I'd post the links here in the News Articles section for handy reference in light of the recent discussions of convertible safety elsewhere on the forum.

IIHS press release: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr053107.html
You can also click on the "Video" link near the top of the press release for some crash test footage and explanations.

Detailed IIHS status report on convertible safety: http://www.iihs.org/sr/pdfs/sr4206.pdf

[southpawboston]

interesting... euroNCAP has been testing convertibles for some time now. i didn't even realize that they weren't tested here...

yet again, i'm not surprised that the two top cars are swedish nameplates. it's also interesting to note that some had rollbars and some didn't, and some cars without a rollbar performed better than others with one... this goes to show that just because a car has a specific "feature" doesn't mean it is necessarily safer.

[lodonal65]

That's good to know. My next car I want is a Saab 9-3 convertible. That is when 2 kiddos leave the house for college! lol

[skaterbabscpst]

lol I told Cam that I wanted a convertible for my 40th birthday. lol Ten years to go.....