We know the 2010 Honda Insight is good to the environment and offers great fuel economy. However, how does it stack up when it comes to safety? If you are anything like me, you put safety features at the top of your list when purchasing vehicles. If you cherish your life and the lives of your loved ones you would be comparing the safety rating of vehicles prior to purchasing.
The Honda Insight comes with Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA). This helps the driver to maintain control during cornering, acceleration and sudden maneuvers, by applying braking to the right or left wheels as necessary and managing the engine torque systems as required. It is a computerized technology introduced in 1995 that improves the safety of a vehicle’s stability by detecting and minimizing skids. When ESC detects loss of steering control, ESC automatically applies the brakes to help “steer” the vehicle where the driver intends to go. Braking is automatically applied to individual wheels, such as the outer front wheel to counter over steer, or the inner rear wheel to counter under steer.
Secondly, the Insight comes with Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE). The Insight shell is a protective cocoon constructed of 42 per cent high tensile steel that disperses energy produced from a crash – boosting protection for its passengers by 20 per cent. Advanced Compatibility Engineering is the marketing name given to an automobile body structure design from Honda. It claims to distribute collision energy evenly and redirect it away from the passenger compartment, while at the same time, minimizing damage to other impacted vehicles. This is accomplished by using numerous grades of steel (typically four) which crumple in key areas and remain rigid in others.
This Cocoon design is used to protect passengers in a variety of ‘real-world’ crash conditions, these include: a frontal collision between vehicles of differing heights, weights and frame construction. The ACE body structure of the Insight prevents cabin crumple whilst reducing the chances of vertical or lateral misalignment between the Insight and another vehicle’s safety structures. The ACE structure provides exceptional stiffness, which also improves side impact protection.
Third, the makers of Honda of course want to keep pedestrians safe. This is why Honda has made features that can dramatically improve a pedestrian’s chance of survival if struck by a moving vehicle. These features include: windscreen wiper pivots designed to break away during impact, energy absorbing front wing mounts and bonnet hinges, as well as a clear area beneath the bonnet to allow it to crumple and absorb impact.
Neck injuries account for approximately 90% of all injuries in rear-end collisions. Over 90% of the injuries sustained by occupants whose vehicles are struck in rear-end collisions are to the neck region. More than 200,000 people suffer such injuries annually. For this reason alone the Insight has been equipped with active headrest. This features mitigates the load on the neck in rear-end collisions. The new Insight is also equipped with front seat active headrests, which reduce the likelihood of neck injury in rear impacts. As the occupant is pushed against the seat back, a rigid plate in the seat presses a link to the headrest pushing it up and forward to support the head.
Last, but not least what vehicle is complete without airbags and seatbelt. Dual front, side and full-length side curtain airbags are fitted as standard on all Honda Insight models. The front seatbelts have load-limiting pretensions. Two ISOFIX fittings in both the left and right rear seats together with tether anchor points in the rear roof ensure the correct installation and secure child-seat mounting points.
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John Paul Strong
John Paul Strong combines his two decades of automotive marketing experience with a team of more than 150 professionals as owner and CEO of Strong Automotive.
