Vehicle safety improvements have saved nearly 50,000 lives since the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) launched its head-to-head crash test in 1995 and saved an estimated more than $500 billion, according to a recent IIHS study.
The institute demonstrated this by crashing a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer and the 2026 model. The test revealed that a driver of a new Blazer would likely have sustained bumps and bruises while a driver of a 1996 model would have suffered serious, potentially fatal injuries. While the occupant compartment of the 2026 model remained intact, the impact pushed the dashboard and steering column into the dummy’s lap in the 1996 model. The airbag hit the dummy’s chin, snapping its head back and toward the window. Institute engineers used metrics collected by instruments inside the dummy to estimate injury risk.
“These results highlight the role of IIHS ratings in driving many of the key vehicle safety improvements of the past 30 years,” Joe Nolan, IIHS chief operating officer, said. “Our ratings program, in turn, has only been possible because of the unwavering support of our member companies in funding our work.”
To estimate lives saved, IIHS researchers examined the effects of five crashworthiness evaluations and determined 48,352 lives from 1999 to 2024.