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Log inFemale Crash Dummies Part of Updated Vehicle Safety Tests
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Female Crash Dummies Part of Updated Vehicle Safety Tests
by Outspoken on Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:54 pm
Female Crash Dummies Part of Updated Vehicle Safety Tests
By Jordan Weissmann
Washington Post Staff Writer
The U.S. Transportation Department announced the first major update to its vehicle safety rating program in seven years yesterday, drawing mixed reactions from advocates who hoped the government would go further in revamping the way it tests automobiles, trucks and sport-utility vehicles.
Beginning with the 2010 model year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will change the way it measures frontal crash tests by placing female dummies in passenger seats and taking injury data from new parts of the body, including the legs and neck. It will run a new side-pole test as well, meant to mimic collisions in which a vehicle wraps around a tree.
The female dummies, making their debut in the safety rating program after years of being used in basic compliance testing, are 4 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 108 pounds, allowing them to pull double duty as large children in crash tests. Industry and consumer groups supported adding the dummies because some data suggest that smaller women may be more prone to serious injuries when riding in the right front passenger seat, NHTSA said.
Also for the first time, vehicles will get an overall safety rating, meant to make it easier for consumers to compare vehicles. Currently, NHTSA offers only individual ratings for frontal, side-impact and rollover tests, all of which will still be available. The new number will combine all crash data, weighting it according to the frequency and deadliness of each type of accident.
"We can say that cars today are much safer than they were 30 years ago. And we have the government safety ratings system in part to thank for that," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said at a morning news conference. "The new ratings will improve passenger safety with challenging new tests and by looking at additional and improved injury data."
The government added rollover testing to its grading formula in 2001 in the wake of highly publicized SUV crashes. The changes come after years of pushing by consumer groups and industry watchers who thought that NHTSA's ratings were becoming obsolete as a way to inform consumers and spur automakers to improve safety.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070802661.html?wpisrc=newsletter
By Jordan Weissmann
Washington Post Staff Writer
The U.S. Transportation Department announced the first major update to its vehicle safety rating program in seven years yesterday, drawing mixed reactions from advocates who hoped the government would go further in revamping the way it tests automobiles, trucks and sport-utility vehicles.
Beginning with the 2010 model year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will change the way it measures frontal crash tests by placing female dummies in passenger seats and taking injury data from new parts of the body, including the legs and neck. It will run a new side-pole test as well, meant to mimic collisions in which a vehicle wraps around a tree.
The female dummies, making their debut in the safety rating program after years of being used in basic compliance testing, are 4 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 108 pounds, allowing them to pull double duty as large children in crash tests. Industry and consumer groups supported adding the dummies because some data suggest that smaller women may be more prone to serious injuries when riding in the right front passenger seat, NHTSA said.
Also for the first time, vehicles will get an overall safety rating, meant to make it easier for consumers to compare vehicles. Currently, NHTSA offers only individual ratings for frontal, side-impact and rollover tests, all of which will still be available. The new number will combine all crash data, weighting it according to the frequency and deadliness of each type of accident.
"We can say that cars today are much safer than they were 30 years ago. And we have the government safety ratings system in part to thank for that," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said at a morning news conference. "The new ratings will improve passenger safety with challenging new tests and by looking at additional and improved injury data."
The government added rollover testing to its grading formula in 2001 in the wake of highly publicized SUV crashes. The changes come after years of pushing by consumer groups and industry watchers who thought that NHTSA's ratings were becoming obsolete as a way to inform consumers and spur automakers to improve safety.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070802661.html?wpisrc=newsletter
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