About the Institutes
Much has changed on the nation's roads since IIHS was founded more than half a century ago — and many of those changes came about as a result of the IIHS's work. Here are a few key dates from our history.
1959 — Three insurance industry groups representing more than 500 auto insurers establish IIHS to funnel support to academic and other organizations in the field of highway safety.
1968 — IIHS becomes a scientific research and communications organization after the Board of Governors votes to change its mission.
1969 — IIHS launches bumper tests, which lead to the first federal bumper standard.
1972 — The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) is organized as an affiliate of IIHS to collect, analyze and publish insurance loss information on most car, SUV, pickup truck, and motorcycle models on US roads.
1973 — IIHS crash tests demonstrate that car fuel system designs allow ruptures, gas leaks, and fire in rear crashes. This leads to new federal rules to reduce leaks.
1974 — IIHS evaluates the consequences of lowering the legal minimum age for purchasing alcohol. Findings provide the scientific basis for enacting 21 minimum age laws in all states.
1976 — IIHS crash tests demonstrate airbag effectiveness in frontal crashes. Highlights are shown before a US congressional committee.
1979 — IIHS research on signal light timing leads traffic engineers to lengthen yellow light intervals.
1980 — IIHS is first to document the hazards to pedestrians of allowing motorists to turn right at red lights. This leads policymakers in New York City and elsewhere to resist or limit right-turn-on-red.
1983 — Supreme Court rules in favor of insurers' efforts to get airbags in cars.
1989 — IIHS publishes the first consumer information that compares death rates among drivers by vehicle make and model.
1990 — Two 1989 Chrysler LeBarons collide head-on in rural Virginia, and both drivers walk away with minor injuries. The crash, believed to be the first of its kind involving two airbag-equipped vehicles, vindicates IIHS and other safety advocates who lobbied for decades for an airbag requirement, which had just been enacted.
1992 — IIHS opens the Vehicle Research Center (VRC) in Ruckersville, Virginia.
1993 — IIHS reveals that daylight saving time reduces crash deaths, a finding that contributes to subsequent designation of more weeks clock-forward.
1995 — IIHS launches offset crash testing to rate vehicles' frontal crashworthiness. Automakers respond by improving vehicle designs to provide better occupant protection in frontal crashes.
1996 — IIHS rates head restraints based on their potential to protect people's necks in rear-end crashes. Automakers respond with new designs that reduce neck injury risk.
2003 — IIHS launches crash tests to rate vehicle crashworthiness in side impacts. Automakers respond by improving vehicle designs to provide better protection in side impacts.
2005 — IIHS finds huge benefits of electronic stability control in reducing serious crashes. These findings accelerate the introduction of this feature ahead of federal requirements.
2008 — IIHS is first to compare booster seats and rate their potential effectiveness based on how well they fit children too old for child restraints but too young for adult lap/shoulder belts.
2009 — In honor of IIHS' 50th anniversary, IIHS conducts a crash test that shows just how much vehicle safety has improved. The test is 40 mph frontal offset crash involving two Chevrolets, a 1959 Bel Air and a 2009 Malibu. The Malibu's structure holds up well, while the Bel Air crumples around the driver dummy. Photos/video of the test
2010 — HLDI examines the effectiveness of state bans on handheld phones and texting, determining that neither restriction reduces crashes.
Read about the founding of the IIHS in-depth:
"Origins and purpose of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety"
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