Car Articles

Crash testing is a testing program that is made compulsory by the federal law for enhanced car safety. All the cars are required to pass a 30-mile-per-hour frontal crash test.

The test program uses crash testing dummies as a replica for man. Dummies are made of different weights, sizes, dimensions and articulations to imitate human physiology. These are made using different materials to have variations in dimensions, weight and size to test the crushing force, velocity of impact, torque of the body and deceleration rate during collision.

There are mainly two types of crash testing: frontal crash testing and side impact crash testing. Front and sides gets the maximum blow from collisions.

Frontal crash testing: For frontal crash test, the car is driven at a speed of 35 miles per hour into a wall. Wall resembles another car driving at a same speed. This testing is mainly done to determine the impact of head collision. The testing area is fitted with a camera that records the action or impact of collision.

Side impact crash testing: In side impact crash test, the car is driven against a trolley of 1,368 kg that slides with the sides of the car. The trolley is composed of aluminum to imitate another vehicle bumper. The fitted cameras record the impact of collision from the sides of the car.

Crash test dummies are full-scale anthropomorphic test devices that are used to reproduce the effect of car crash with respect to high velocity and deceleration rates during a collision.

Crash test dummies were first introduced in late 1940s by U.S. Air Force testing conducted to pilot restraint and ejection systems. After that the military started using these test programs to test human tolerance to injury. Later, the GM Proving Ground, in 1962, introduced the first dummy for automotive crash test to simulate collision acceleration waveforms produced by cars. Four years after that, anthropomorphic dummies were produced that are still used in crash testing programs.