The nine major automakers agreed Tuesday to make SUVs and pickups less dangerous to people in cars that are hit head-on, the industry’s trade group said. The companies agreed that the beams they’re putting on trucks to prevent cars from sliding under them would meet a new strength test when they’re installed by September 2009. The companies have been lowering the front ends of trucks or installing “blocker beams” to meet a voluntary standard they agreed to in 2003. They’ve also been installing side-curtain air bags to protect people in vehicles hit in the side, especially by trucks. (Pictured right is Volvo XC90 colliding head-on with a Volvo S60. The XC90 was one of the first SUVs to popularize the blocker-beam concept.)
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