Can You And Your Car Survive A Collision?
You’ve probably seen the commercials that show a couple of poor dummies (the fake variety) buckled into a vehicle that is destined for the scrap heap. Auto manufacturers spend enormous amounts of time and money to test their vehicles’ ability to survive crashes and protect passengers. Car aficionados might cringe at the thought of sending a flawless driving machine to its doom, but it’s a good thing that automakers do. The results from such tests help them make modifications in design and production to deliver better safety and protection.
In this article, we’ll take a look behind the scenes at how vehicles are “crash tested.” I’ll explain what is involved in the testing procedure and how vehicles are ultimately deemed worthy of passing.
What Does Testing Involve?
Collision tests are organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other organizations. Automakers are keenly interested in being awarded high marks in meeting safety standards by the NHTSA. It’s an important event and more expensive than you might think. Each staged collision will cost nearly $100,000 to perform. But, manufacturers are willing to subsidize the cost in order to achieve a high rating that they can then use in their commercials.
To prepare each vehicle, engineers load it with sensors that can deliver crash-related data. Then, they drain the fluids, mount the cameras, connect the sensors, and wipe away a tear as they bid farewell. When it’s fully prepared, the vehicle is sent barreling toward its demise. When the test is over, the engineers retrieve data recorders and begin analyzing the results.
How Do They Pass?
As implied above, the NHTSA doesn’t pass or fail cars as much as assign ratings regarding their level of crash safety. For example, a 2007 Toyota Camry might be awarded 4 out of 5 stars. A Pontiac G8 may score 3 out of 5 stars. It’s also important to understand that every car, truck, and SUV receives an NHTSA safety rating in 3 different areas: impact to the front, impact to the sides, and rollovers. So, a Ford Mustang could presumably score 4 stars in front and side impacts, but only 2 in rollovers.
The effect of the NHTSA ratings is actually twofold. First, automakers love to flaunt high safety ratings. It helps them sell vehicles. Second, insurance companies use the ratings to determine rates for policyholders. After all, if a particular make and model crumples into a ball of metal from a side impact, auto insurers will probably want to raise the rates.
So, the next time you’re visiting a dealership, ask the salesman about the NHTSA safety ratings. You might be surprised to discover that the great-looking car you’re about to purchase won’t offer you much protection in a traffic collision.
