Engineers Developing New Crash Test Criterion
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| A group of top engineers are studying if current regulations that favor frontal crash test ratings are causing production of larger, stronger vehicles. (Photo: General Motors) |
A pair of automotive engineers have recently stated that fixed-barrier frontal crash tests (a test in which a car is propelled into a stationary object such as a wall) could potentially undergo a series of re-evaluations. These tests are regularly issued by the Canadian and American federal governments in association with insurance-sponsored organizations. It has been noted that these experiments could make large and smaller vehicles less accordant in crashes.
A team of authors including Robert Lange, Executive Director of Safety Structure and Integration, Mukul Verma, Principle Engineer, and Joseph Lavelle, Senior Engineer of General Motors, will present a technical paper on the recent study. Their information will be dispersed at the upcoming March 3rd through 6th SAE 2003 World Congress being held at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.
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| Honda's Insight might be the most environmentally friendly vehicle available to consumers in Canada today, but how well would the 856 kg (1,887 lb) lightweight fair in a head-on collision with a 3,281 kg (7,234 lb) Ford Excursion? (Photo: Honda) |
With an attendance representing 40 countries, the non-profit engineering and scientific organization will highlight the latest automotive and engineering technologies regarding this subject and others. Here Lange, Lavelle, and Mukul will pose that fixed-barrier tests have led to the development of larger vehicles that as a result of safety regulations embody more rigid, tougher front end designs. In turn, this leads to higher levels of force on impact.
On average, larger vehicles get better results in the fixed-barrier tests. This statistic has unintentionally caused a rift between advocates of safety and promoters of environmental issues, the former pushing larger vehicles and the latter backing smaller, lighter economy cars.