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Car Accidents

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) publishes a listing of the safest cars introduced on the market each year. The list of vehicles that made the list this year didn’t get on the list by happenstance. The automakers instead spent time learning what would earn their previous model cars higher scores over previous years. They then set out to improve them. New technology helped make some cars make the 2020 “best of” list over others too.

IIHS researchers focused on headlights this year. They did so because it’s the one feature that’s a standard feature on all cars. They aid motorists in seeing hazards that may be obstructing their path both close and far. IIHS researchers note that high-performing headlights are particularly important during the nighttime when a motorist’s visibility is poor. Many of the vehicles that made the “best of” list this year had improved headlights. This, in part, allowed some cars to score better than others when they were being ranked.

Another feature that many of the cars that ranked high on the list for 2020 offered was a pedestrian detection system. This was the first year in which the IIHS required all of the cars that made their top 20 list to have such a system in place. They instituted this requirement in hopes of reducing pedestrian fatality rates. It’s climbed by 53% since 2009.

Consumers may purchase one of the top 20 vehicles that feature enhanced headlights or pedestrian detection systems, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will go accident-free. While these features may reduce their chances of some types of crashes, it doesn’t prevent others. An attorney can advise you of your right to compensation for medical costs and other expenses if a negligent motorist crashed into and injured you here in Waco or elsewhere in Texas.

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Michael Zimmerman

Michael was born in Houston, Texas. His education at Baylor and Texas State Universities earned him a Bachelor of Science degree in 1987. His major was in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry. He finished his legal education at Texas Southern University in 1990, earning a Juris Doctorate from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1990.

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