Deadline Nears for S.U.V. Crash Compliance

The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

There won’t be any public celebrations, but Sept. 1 is a small and contentious landmark in automotive safety. It is the deadline for the auto industry to voluntarily make S.U.V.’s and pickups less deadly in frontal and side-impact collisions with passenger cars.

The new S.U.V. standards are meant to address the so-called “compatibility issue.” In frontal impacts with passenger cars, the high-riding frame of an S.U.V. or pickup often did not match up with the frame of the smaller car to help dissipate the energy. That meant a lot more damage could be done to the car and its occupants. Side impacts — where there is little metal to protect passengers — could be devastating.

Earlier this year the automakers told the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration that all their vehicles would be in compliance by the deadline.

Click here for the full article from the New York Times