Though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is in the process of considering changes such as increasing the speeds in its automatic emergency braking tests and assigning official safety ratings to autonomous vehicle driver assist features, the IIHS also recently revised its seat belt reminder test and gave it tougher standards. As a result, a number of models subsequently failed the new test, including the 2022 Ford Escape back in March and the 2022 Ford Explorer in April. Now, the 2022 Ford Maverick has followed suit, earning a “poor” rating in the most recently IIHS seat belt reminder test.
In all fairness, only one pickup out of the 10 subjected to this recent IIHS test managed to earn a “good” rating – the Toyota Tundra – while five in total were assigned a “poor” rating. Regardless, this test has become increasingly important in recent years as a whopping one-third of pickup occupant deaths in 2020 happened in rollover crashes, which is precisely where seat belts play an important role in keeping occupants inside a vehicle.
To earn a good rating in the revised IIHS standards, a vehicle’s seat belt reminder system must generate an audible signal and visual alert on the dashboard display, overhead panel, or center console when the vehicle is moving at least six miles-per-hour and the system detects an unbelted occupant in the driver or passenger seat, or the unfastening of a second-row belt that was previously buckled. That audible alert must also be loud enough to be heard over background noise inside the vehicle and last at least 90 seconds. A visual indicator must show second-row belt use when the driver starts the vehicle, and an audible and visual reminder lasting at least 30 seconds is required when a fastened second-row belt is unbuckled.
In that regard, the 2022 Ford Maverick earned its poor rating because it failed to initiate an unbelted occupant warning quickly enough and that warning wasn’t loud enough, while the sound itself also didn’t last long enough, too. The same problems applied to the pickup’s second-row startup status alert and belt disengaged alert as well. According to the IIHS, seat belt reminder alerts could increase seatbelt use by at least 34 percent and save around 1,500 lives annually when these standards are met.
“National belt use observations show that people driving or riding in pickups are less likely to buckle up than occupants of other vehicles, so effective reminders are especially important for these vehicles,” says IIHS President David Harkey. “This is a solvable problem.”
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Comments
Well this is one test I actually am glad to see a low rating in. The Tundra seat belt reminder is atrociously annoying.
Anyone who dislikes safety “nannies” in their vehicles should stick to only riding motorcycles! Avoid the helmets if you’re allowed! We need empty hospital beds, not lingerers!
Here’s some brand new standards we just thought up, guess what, YOU FAILED.
As an owner of a maverick since early October I makes me happy that it isn’t annoying as having anything with weight ( like a toolbox) trip the sensor so being a quite chime is great all I have to do is just turn my radio up. The reminders are useless anyways if some one doesn’t want to wear it the chime won’t change their mind they will either ignore it or use forscan to disable it
who cares !! Heck, they cant even build the ones ordered !!!! 9 months and counting !!!
I don’t know how that can be. I own a Maverick, and it’s pretty annoying, dinging away at you the minute you start driving without a seatbelt and not letting up until you put your seatbelt on.
First feature I disable on new vehicles, so annoying, who cares, lol