Mazda CX-9, CX-7 Earn Government’s Highest Safety Ratings
The Mazda CX-9
Two sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from Mazda recently received the government’s thumbs-up in terms of car safety.
The Mazda CX-9 and CX-7 vehicles earned the highest possible ratings in impact crashes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the government agency responsible for reducing vehicle-related accidents. In particular, the two Mazda vehicles received a five-star frontal and side impact crash-test ratings and four-star rollover resistance ratings.
“This is a true testament to Mazda’s advanced safety engineering that both CX-9 and CX-7 received the highest safety honors,” said Jim O’Sullivan, President and CEO of Mazda North American Operations. “While other companies can certainly build safe vehicles, we’re the only company that delivers that safety with a healthy dose of Zoom-Zoom in every car and SUV.”
The NHTSA did its frontal testing by placing dummies in a vehicle and crashing it into a stationary barrier at 35 miles per hour. There are tools that measure the force of impact to the head, chest, and legs of the dummy. For the side impact test, a 3,015-pound barrier moving at 38.5 mph is crashed into the side of the passenger compartment of the stationary vehicle.
The Mazda CX-9 and CX-7, along with other Mazda vehicles, help drivers avoid accidents through the use of standard safety features such as Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Traction Control Systems (TCS), and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TMPS). Also, CX-9 and Tribute are both equipped with standard Roll Stability Control (RSC), which uses gyroscopic sensors to actively measure and help control both yaw and roll movements.
Passive safety technologies, which are available on CX-7, CX-9, MAZDASPEED3, and Tribute, include three-point seat belts for all seating positions, second row Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) child safety restraints, seat belt reminding systems, advanced dual front airbags, front side-impact airbags and air curtains (front and rear). These features are designed to work especially during accidents.