While most people might naturally think that a car with a hard (closed) roof will be safer than an open-roof car; a new study has just proved that to be very wrong. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has just published new research which clearly shows that open-roof (droptops) cars are safe in every bit like the fixed-roof cars. As a matter of fact, the study even revealed that open-roof cars are somewhat safer.
New research by IIHS says that open-roof (convertible) cars are safer than regular (closed-top) cars
When talking about a list of top 10 cars with the lowest rates of driver deaths based on IIHS rankings, it’s quite interesting that there is usually not one open-roof car on such a list. But that might soon change the following results from the institute’s latest research which shows that open-roof cars are even slightly safer than hardtops. This new research by the IIHS drew a conclusion based on the following;
- Data for driver deaths recorded per ten billion miles traveled showed that open-roof cars had 11% lower fatality rates compared to hardtops
- Open-roof cars have 6% lower police-reported crashes per ten million miles traveled than hardtop coupes
- Hardtop convertibles (cabriolet) cars have 10% lower injury rates than regular hardtops based on past data
- Soft-top convertibles (open-roof) cars have a 3% lower injury rate compared to hardtops
>>> Also check out the: Top 5 best Mercedes-Benz convertibles of all time
Despite all of the above impressive data and research results, we still have to point out that a driver can easily be thrown out of any open-roof (convertibles) car in the course of an accident. This was also captured in the IIHS research which shows that about 21% of drivers that died in an accident involving an open-roof car got ejected during the crash compared to just 17% in hardtops. And when considering rollover incidents, open-roof cars have 43% chances of causing a driver to leave the cabin during crashes compared to 35% in hardtop coupes.
In case you are considering a cabriolet or convertible (open-roof) car for your next purchase, watch the video below to gain some knowledge;
10 Things to Consider Before Buying a Convertible
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