Crash Tests getting a much needed Revision

In 2006, 95 percent of the vehicles tested won a top four- or five-star rating from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), primarily because its testing methods are decades old and don’t reflect real-world crashes. This was a strong hint that crash test ratings and vehicle safety standards need to be revised. It only makes sense, as safety technology gets better every year, and as cars become safer with these technologies, testing methods must follow suit and adjust.  The new ratings program includes factors such as whether a vehicle has crash avoidance technologies such as electronic stability control, lane departure warning systems and forward collision warning systems. That data will be combined with the star ratings from the front, side and rollover tests to create a more comprehensive “Vehicle Safety Score.” These testing procedures will reduce the inflated star ratings and lead to safer cars in the future. The enhancements to the NHTSA ratings will be reflected in vehicle window stickers, providing an easier way for consumers to compare the safety of vehicles they are considering.

Safety testing for vehicles include frontal crash tests, side-impact tests and two rollover tests — one based on mathematical formulas rather than real crashes, the other a “tip up” rollover test using test vehicles. As of September 2007, all new car window price stickers were required to show the NHTSA star ratings.  The new tests were originally scheduled to be implemented 2010 model-year vehicles, but NHTSA announced a one-year postponement in December 2008 to give automakers extra time to prepare for the changes. The new tests are now scheduled for 2011 model-year vehicles. In addition to considering a new rear-collision test, NHTSA is devising changes to all three of its current tests.

One change that will occur will be in the dummies.  Currently, NHTSA’s frontal impact test belts two adult-male-size crash test dummies into the front driver and passenger seats. NHTSA will keep the current 35-mph frontal barrier test, but will revise its testing procedures to include smaller crash dummies, so women and larger children are represented. This new crash data will be used in calculating the frontal impact star rating. For side-impact test NHTSA will update its injury criteria for the chest, abdomen and pelvis. It will also add a new side-impact pole test that incorporates the smaller crash dummies. This test is designed to simulate wrapping a vehicle around a tree or lamppost. The side-impact safety rating will now be based on a combination of the pole and moving barrier test.

NHTSA conducts two rollover resistance tests that measure how a vehicle in a single-car crash responds when “tripped up” by a curb, guardrail or ditch. The so-called Static Stability tests measure the height of the car’s center of gravity and the distance between the wheels. The results are a mathematical calculation of rollover risk for a tripped car — a car that goes off pavement into loose gravel or hits a curb. NHTSA will continue to test for rollovers under the new proposals, but will not revise its testing model until it gets more crash data on the effectiveness of electronic stability control in preventing rollovers.