Six popular midsize SUVs score poor marks on rear-seat safety

A new crash test study has shown that several popular midsize SUV models scored poorly in ratings for rear-seat safety, CBS News is reporting.

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The study, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), found that of the 13 midsize SUV models tested, all earned good marks for driver protection, but six of the 13 scored poorly when it came to rear-seat safety.

“The majority of the midsize SUVs that we evaluated have a lot of work to do to improve safety for the rear seat position,” Raul Arbelaez, vice president of the IIHS Vehicle Research Center, told CBS News.

“We just saw injuries, injury measures on the dummy, that were too high on the chest,” Arbelaez said. “High levels of head and neck forces.”

The six models scoring poorly for rear seat safety were the Honda Pilot, the Hyundai Palisade, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Jeep Wrangler 4-door, the Mazda CX-9 and the Nissan Murano, according to Autoblog.com

The test simulated a 40 mph front-end crash. IIHS added a test dummy to the backseat during the test crashes.

The IIHS found that the risk of a fatal injury in the backseat is 46% higher compared to the front seat.