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Crash tests' hi-tech shake-up
A revolutionary new type of crash test that will 'radically improve road safety' could be introduced by 2009
Results show how tests would be made more realistic, with raised yellow Panda seriously damaging lowered blue car.
By Mat Watson
21st April 2007
Rather than concentrating on how a vehicle protects its occupants in the event of a shunt, it gauges the amount of damage that one model will do to another in a car-to-car collision.
The test involves smashing vehicles into a special barrier featuring built-in sensors. These measure how well the model distributes the impact's force across its whole frontal area.
From this data, a 'crash footprint' is calculated. The more evenly the load is spread, the more 'compatible' the vehicle is in an accident and the less danger it poses to other cars.
The new standard would bring the biggest shake-up in automotive safety since the introduction of Euro NCAP crash tests in 1997, according to the Government's scientists who devised it. And it could force manufacturers to drastically rethink how models are designed, as new cars would have to pass the innovative test before they could be sold in Europe.
Lee Thompson, from the Transport Research Laboratory in Berkshire, is one of the scientists involved. He said: "Currently, cars are designed specifically to do well in Euro NCAP.
"While this results in good occupant protection, it doesn't take into account the damage a car will do to people in another vehicle." Models today are built with specific strengthened sections, and Thompson added: "These work fine when they crash into a solid deformable barrier, as in Euro NCAP. But the strong areas may be at different heights on different cars. In real life, this can see one vehicle's reinforced areas riding up over those of another - causing massive damage."
Our shocking pictures of three Fiat Pandas illustrate the problem. The yellow and blue cars were smashed head-on into each other, but the ride height of the former was raised by 30mm, while the latter car's was lowered by the same amount. Even though this difference was small, it had a significant effect on how the Fiats performed.
The yellow model's strengthened areas rode above the lower blue car's, seriously damaging the latter's safety cell. As you can see, its A-pillar has completely deformed. Compare these results to the photograph showing a Panda after a Euro NCAP test, which involved a crash of similar severity, and the real-world effect of cars' protection structures not matching up is clear - which is why the new test will boost road safety.
"The goal is to be in a situation where a vehicle's crash performance is the same, regardless of where it is struck," Thompson said.
The test involves smashing vehicles into a special barrier featuring built-in sensors. These measure how well the model distributes the impact's force across its whole frontal area.
From this data, a 'crash footprint' is calculated. The more evenly the load is spread, the more 'compatible' the vehicle is in an accident and the less danger it poses to other cars.
The new standard would bring the biggest shake-up in automotive safety since the introduction of Euro NCAP crash tests in 1997, according to the Government's scientists who devised it. And it could force manufacturers to drastically rethink how models are designed, as new cars would have to pass the innovative test before they could be sold in Europe.
Lee Thompson, from the Transport Research Laboratory in Berkshire, is one of the scientists involved. He said: "Currently, cars are designed specifically to do well in Euro NCAP.
"While this results in good occupant protection, it doesn't take into account the damage a car will do to people in another vehicle." Models today are built with specific strengthened sections, and Thompson added: "These work fine when they crash into a solid deformable barrier, as in Euro NCAP. But the strong areas may be at different heights on different cars. In real life, this can see one vehicle's reinforced areas riding up over those of another - causing massive damage."
Our shocking pictures of three Fiat Pandas illustrate the problem. The yellow and blue cars were smashed head-on into each other, but the ride height of the former was raised by 30mm, while the latter car's was lowered by the same amount. Even though this difference was small, it had a significant effect on how the Fiats performed.
The yellow model's strengthened areas rode above the lower blue car's, seriously damaging the latter's safety cell. As you can see, its A-pillar has completely deformed. Compare these results to the photograph showing a Panda after a Euro NCAP test, which involved a crash of similar severity, and the real-world effect of cars' protection structures not matching up is clear - which is why the new test will boost road safety.
"The goal is to be in a situation where a vehicle's crash performance is the same, regardless of where it is struck," Thompson said.
Pictures
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