For quite some time, most vehicle safety tests have focused mostly on front seat occupants, not those that might sit in the back. Automakers also tend to install safety features like seat-belt tensioners and load-limiters in front seats, but not back seats, while only a small percentage of new vehicles offer side airbags specifically designed for rear-seat passengers. That’s precisely why Consumer Reports conducts its Rear Seat Safety Study, which recently ranked the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport as the third-best vehicle in that regard, a finish that was matched by the 2021 Ford F-150 XL, as both scored an identical 61 points.
“The rear seat has to take into account all kinds of passengers who sit there, from infants and teens to adults and ride-sharing passengers of all ages,” said Emily Thomas, an automotive safety engineer at Consumer Reports. “But our analysis shows that many automakers don’t put the same safety features in the rear that they do in the front.”
Consumer Reports’ Rear Seat Safety Study takes a number of factors into account when determining an overall score, including proper car seat and booster seat fitment, the presence of rear occupant alert systems, rear seat belt warnings, advanced rear restraints, and rear head restraints. In that regard, the 2021 Ford F-150 XLT finished third among 35 models tested, behind only the Toyota Sienna and Nissan Rogue.
This impressive result is particularly notable as many of the vehicles CR tested were sorely lacking in terms of rear-seat safety features. Many don’t offer things like advanced rear restraints or rear belt reminders, which is partially due to the fact that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) only just began conducting frontal crash tests with a dummy located in the back seat, which means that standards will be changing moving forward.
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