Dec. 7, 2010—Bumpers on sport-utility vehicles should be lowered to prevent damage to smaller cars in crash tests, according to a recent study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
The combined estimated-damage costs for an SUV hitting the rear of a stopped car at 10 miles per hour ranged from $2,995 to $7,444, and for a car hitting an SUV it was $3,601 to $9,867, according to the study’s results published by Bloomberg Businessweek. U.S. regulations require all cars to have rear and front bumpers that protect a zone of 16-20 inches from the ground, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. However, SUVs do not fall under that regulation.
“Instead of the bumpers hitting each other and bumping, you wind up with costly crashes,” said John Nolan, chief administrative officer for IIHS. “Regulating SUV bumpers would ease the burden.”
