The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) helps consumers stay informed about the safety of their vehicles. Recently, the IIHS added a new category to its test suite: seat belts. only two SUVs received seat belt scores high enough to be considered good. It’s perhaps no surprise that they’re both Subarus. Here’s why the 2022 Subaru Forester and 2022 Subaru Ascent beat out 24 other SUVs to be the only two with good seatbelt ratings.

The IIHS recently introduced new seat belt ratings

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The IIHS is a non-profit organization committed to making vehicles safer. Recently, the IIHS introduced new seat belt tests to make SUVs safer. He hopes it will save around 1,500 lives a year. While most people know that seat belts are an integral part of car safety, not everyone uses them regularly and the IIHS hopes to change that. “Our research shows that effective seat belt reminders can also save lives by getting those who are not diligent to buckle up. These new ratings are designed to push manufacturers to realize this potential.

Currently, seat belt regulations are doing a good job of keeping people safe, although more can be done. Currently, seat belts are required to emit a sound for four to eight seconds and a visual alert that lasts 60 seconds if someone is unbuckled.

The 2022 Subaru Forester and the 2022 Subaru Ascent are the only 2 SUVs to get a good rating

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The 2022 Subaru Forester and 2022 Subaru Ascent are the only two SUVs that get a good rating from the IIHS for their seatbelt notifications. That’s out of the 26 SUVs tested by the IIHS. Both SUVs have sound alerts four times higher than typical SUV noise.

There are five SUVs with acceptable seatbelt ratings. These include the 2022 Hyundai Palisade, 2022 Hyundai Tucson, 2022 Nissan Murano, 2022 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2022 Nissan Rogue.

Then there are SUVs with marginal and mediocre ratings. The 2022 Jeep Compass, 2022 Jeep Renegade and 2022 Jeep Wrangler get marginal marks. The same goes for the 2022 Mazda CX-5, 2022 Mazda CX-9, 2022 Toyota RAV4, and 2022 Toyota Highlander.

Most SUVs have poor seat belt ratings

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Unfortunately, most SUVs have poor seat belt ratings. The 2022 Audi Q3, 2022 Buick Encore, and 2022 Chevrolet Equinox all have bad seat belt ratings. The same goes for the 2022 Chevrolet Traverse, the 2022 Ford Escape and the 2022 Ford Explorer. Additionally, the 2022 Honda CR-V, the 2022 Honda HR-V, the 2022 Honda Pilot, the 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas and the 2022 Volvo XC40.

The IIHS says 11 of the lowest-rated SUVs don’t have strong enough signals or last long enough. The twelfth SUV, the 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, only has an audible alert for the driver, while the passenger side only has a visual cue.

With Subaru’s reputation for safety, it’s perhaps no surprise that the 2022 Subaru Forester and 2022 Subaru Ascent have strong IIHS seatbelt ratings. Although these settings may be new, they are important and should help save lives. Hopefully other automakers will start raising the standards of their seatbelt notifications, and there will be more than two SUVs with good ratings in the very near future.

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