marekatlanta71
19.04.04, 15:59
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Most mid-size passenger cars don't adequately protect occupants when struck in
the side by a pickup truck or SUV, even if they have side airbags, according
to a new test of cars conducted by the insurance industry. The Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety said 12 of 15 midsize family cars earned the
lowest possible rating in a test that simulates a full-size pickup truck or
SUV "T-boning" the car at 31 miles per hour. The test results - the first for
passenger cars - come at a time when regulators and automakers are moving to
change the front-end designs of trucks and SUVs to make them less lethal to
smaller passenger cars in crashes.
The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord equipped with optional side airbags are the
only mass-market midsize cars to earn good ratings, which means the likelihood
of serious injuries would be low. The Chevy Malibu tested with optional side
head-protection airbags was rated "acceptable," because no torso protection is
included in Malibu's airbags. Twelve others: Camry, Accord and Malibu without
side airbags; Suzuki Verona, Mazda6, Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Sebring; Nissan
Altima, Saturn L-Series, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Mitsubishi Galant all
earned "poor" ratings. The Galant, Altima, Stratus, Sebring, and Mazda6 were
tested without optional airbags because the companies were not willing to
reimburse IIHS for the optional features. The Suzuki Verona does not offer
side airbags. The Saturn L-Series and Hyundai were tested with standard side bags.
IIHS president Brian O'Neill says his group's front-crash tests have spurred
design and technology to make most cars far safer than they used to be in
head-on collisions. "We believe this new test will drive similar improvements
in protection for occupants in side crashes," says O'Neill.
Not all side airbags are created equal. The Camry and Accords that scored well
have side curtain bags that deploy from the roof down, which protect heads,
plus torso airbags for front-seat occupants. Without airbags, the barrier
struck the driver and occupant heads resulting in serious injury. The Malibu,
which doesn't have torso airbags, scored well, but lower. In the case of the
Hyundai, a combination head/torso side airbag that deploys from the side of
the seat protected the driver, but not the rear-seat occupant. Saturn's side
curtain bag didn't adequately protect the "short-woman" crash dummy as her
head slid under the deployed airbag.
Side impacts are the second most common fatal type of crash after front
crashes. The IIHS says 9600 people were killed in side crashes in 2002, the
last year for which data is available. And in crashes between two vehicles
more driver deaths occur in vehicles struck in the side than in the front,
says O'Neill. Accident research by the IIHS shows side airbags with head
protection reduce deaths by 45 percent among drivers of cars struck on the
driver side. The IIHS test uses a moving deformable 3300-pound barrier shaped
like the front of an SUV that slams into the driver side of the vehicle at 31
mph. Two crash dummies, representing a short woman and 12-year-old child in
the back seat are inside. The National Highway Safety Administration is
developing its own updated side-impact test, which would inevitably result in
design changes to both cars and light trucks, as well as forcing some
automakers to make side airbags standard equipment.
The auto industry, trying to head off regulation, has agreed to voluntary
design changes for pickups and SUVs making them more compatible with passenger
cars by 2008. At least 50 percent of vehicles will be designed for greater
compatibility by 2007. Automakers say the design changes alone should reduce
side-impact crash fatalities by 28 percent. - Jim Burt
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