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Pole Dance: NHTSA to add new side-impact crash test? [w/VIDEO]
NHTSA side-impact pole test – click above to watch the video
Not satisfied with cars that manage crash forces well enough to avoid spilling your drink, and engines that run so clean they'll barely asphyxiate ants, a new crash test is reportedly coming in the works from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Along with the test will come new dummies and new testing equipment, all of which means it's likely to have a big impact on future car designs. The side-impact pole test will simulate side collisions with objects like trees or telephone poles, a type of accident that current side-impact tests don't accurately simulate.
According to The New York Times, the new test will use a 10-inch round pole that will collide with the car at speeds of up to 20 mph. A 75-degree angle will be used, and the point of impact will be just aft of the A-pillar. Naturally, automakers won't have to pass the test all at once, the standard will be phased in. For 2011, 20 percent of an automaker's fleet will have to meet the standard and by 2014, the pole crash standard will be at 100 percent – all new cars will have to comply.
It's a change that could potentially change the face of auto design, the same way pedestrian impact standards in Europe have led to some peculiar front sheetmetal. Materials changes may also be employed to meet the regulation, with additional high-strength steel being substituted. The more conventional metals currently used are easier to form, while stronger metals require all sorts of hot pressing and tempering to be put into shape. Manufacturing cost will go up, which means prices will probably also increase, or profit will decrease while prices hold steady. Safe cars are a laudable goal, but how safe is safe enough? Follow the jump to see a video of how Ford's 2010 Mustang GT convertible and coupe models fare, then let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
[Source: The New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
CJ 3:24PM (11/18/2009)
Really? How often does this kind of crash happen? And yet people are still allowed to ride motorcycles. I appreciate safety efforts, but I can't begin to imagine how frustrating it must be for the engineers and automakers.
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Paul 3:40PM (11/18/2009)
Almost half of all fatalities involve accidents like this. It's been automaker lobbiests who have prevented the inclusion of this type of test up to now. If someone wants to drive a motorcycle or small convertible, they're implicitly accepting increased risk. But when cars split apart or implode by hitting a small pole, it's a problem.
While no car will ever be completely safe, the fact is, this kind of no-brainer test is long overdue.
John H. 3:42PM (11/18/2009)
My thoughts exactly.
Is this a common-enough problem that we need every car to do this?
I don't think so...
But I guess NHTSA needs to justify itself one way or another, so making up new tests out of the blue is "necessary".
Lar7789789 3:49PM (11/18/2009)
Thats too bad to see a nice brand new 2010 Mustang get smashed up like that.
Anyways, what's next? shooting a rocket propelled grenade into the door to to see how much force the sheetmetal can withstand?
Then adding regulations to make sure the door can withstand such a blast?
Lar7789789 3:51PM (11/18/2009)
Thats too bad to see a nice brand new 2010 Mustang get smashed up like that.
Anyways, what's next? shooting a rocket propelled grenade into the door to to see how much force the sheetmetal can withstand?
Then adding regulations to make sure the door can withstand such a blast?
Samurai Jack 4:10PM (11/18/2009)
Actually, wouldn't a motorcycle impact closely approximate this kind of crash? Short of a complete spin out it's one of the few things that would. Then again, I have no doubt that NHTSA has data we don't...
RX-8 4:25PM (11/18/2009)
This is one of the more deadly types of accidents out there. This type of accident favors powerful RWD (or rear bias AWD cars) combined with divers who lack the skill to drive such cars (probably 99% of drivers on the road). The fact is that each year lately there are more and more RWD models with more power coming out and idiot drivers who dont know how to drive around a corner.
nrb 4:28PM (11/18/2009)
"Actually, wouldn't a motorcycle impact closely approximate this kind of crash?"
With a motorcycle, you're dealing with the mass of the car vs a motorcycle. With the video, you're dealing with the mass of the car vs an unmovable object. Very different.
ford4life 5:39PM (11/18/2009)
thats a v6 mustang, not GT
Samurai Jack 5:51PM (11/18/2009)
@nrb... duh. You're so very right, and it's so obvious I'm kicking myself for not seeing it. Thanks for setting me straight.
Mike P. 5:51PM (11/18/2009)
EURO-NCAP have been doing this test for ages. It makes sense--a significant number of fatalities are due to crashes like this. Just think--car skids or spins, and wham--telephone pole. It's an excellent test of cabin rigidity.
b 10:40PM (11/18/2009)
honestly, why don't the american, japanese, korean, and european insurance and government transportation agencies combine, and create an international highway safety board??
it would lower costs, increase quality, and speed up development.
Frank 9:41AM (11/19/2009)
"Anyways, what's next? shooting a rocket propelled grenade into the door to to see how much force the sheetmetal can withstand?"
AP wire services: 11/19/2015 NHTSA announced today that they are revising the side impact test for cars and light trucks. The test will now consist of hitting the test vehicle in the driver door with a cruise missile. Vehicles will be rated on how well they stand up to the explosive impact. "We expect that most cars, with a little extra engineering will do fine", said Alvin C. Monk, lead engineer in charge of testing and analytics for the government agency, "after all, the cruise missiles will only be equiped with conventional, non-nuclear warheads". Boeing, manufacturer of the cruise missiles said in a statement it was grateful to get the government contract. Boeing was bought out by the US government 2 years ago after defense cuts forced it to go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Stephen 12:46PM (11/19/2009)
@ b
+1000! Then the manufactures wouldn't be able to use the excuse that such and such cool car can't be sold in such and such country because it doesn't meet crash standards. Then we'd just have to get everybody on board for global emissions standards too.
gefinley 3:05PM (11/18/2009)
Just give us all tanks to drive around in already.
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BigDumbFace 3:23PM (11/18/2009)
That's basically what it would take.
What the NHTSA has done is discovered that only round objects can survive a barrage from all sides.
Meaning if/when this happens, cars will need to start getting wider and heavier.
This just gives further credence to the EPA and NHTSA requirements are in complete opposition to each other. Passing this test will hurt fuel economy, guaranteed.
Steven 4:07PM (11/18/2009)
Just make the light poles weaker, duh.
nrb 4:30PM (11/18/2009)
"Just give us all tanks to drive around in already."
Then complain about why the MPG isn't higher.
Christian de Saint Preux 5:04PM (11/18/2009)
This is not a mandate. It's something manufacturers try to pass in order to make the car cheaper to insure since it's data for the insurance companies. Or at least that is how I see it.
Still. What they need to invest is in: CRASH AVOIDANCE. Like Active handling systems and the such. That sort of crash avoidance scenario will make the car cheaper and it hurts less than an actual crash ;)
krische 3:13PM (11/18/2009)
When will the cost of carbon fiber come down so it can start to be incorporate in normal cars? Seems like it would solve a lot of problems of strength yet remaining light to provide fuel efficiency.
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