This is interesting. This test was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on January 4, 2013, on a 2012 Honda Odyssey. This is a research test and was not used for vehicle evaluation.
This test seemed to hit at a critical angle, leaving the van "confused" as to how to protect the occupants. On the surface, it seems little different from an IIHS offset test. The IIHS test is at 40 miles per hour into a deformable barrier with 40% of the front end on the driver's side. This test is at 56 miles per hour, but only the barrier is moving; in terms of energy changed, it is more or less similar to the IIHS test. 35% of the front end is struck. But it's at a 15 degree angle.
The angle changes everything.
The IIHS test is primarily of a frontal nature; although vehicles do move to the side, and dummies move to the side inside (sometimes contacting a pillar or an inflated side airbag), this side movement often occurs later in the crash and doesn't affect the dummy's forward movement into the airbag very much. In the new small overlap test, where only 25% of the front end contacts the barrier, side movement is more severe, and if the inflated frontal airbag is too narrow or leaves too much room between the chest and the airbag, there can be undesirable movement that can lead to the head contacting hard objects. These tests only test driver front airbags, which limit lateral movement better than passenger front airbags. Driver airbags in most cars are closer to the occupant when inflated than passenger airbags - there is about half the space between the driver and the wheel as there is the passenger and the dash. Passengers can be all shapes and sizes - yes, even children, while drivers are typically within a certain range of height and weight. Hence, the driver cannot move as much and is contained in a smaller area. This is with little or no intrusion - intrusion can change the outcome dramatically. Most of the dummies missing the airbag in the IIHS small overlap test were due to intrusion.
This test shows this effect dramatically. The side movement in this crash test is violent - far worse than the average IIHS test. Both dummies are propelled forward and at a roughly 30 degree angle to the left. The steering wheel is shoved slightly to the right, but the dummy is contained by and spends lots of time with the driver airbag, which leaves little thin air for the driver to move around in. In fact, the airbag actually hits the rib cage. (Don't go selling your Odysseys, because that airbag impact wouldn't even hurt a real person). The dummy's head has to move just a few inches to hit the airbag. The body never gets to gain much momentum and forces are low. Head injury criterion for 15 milliseconds (HIC-15) has a maximum safe limit of 700. The driver in this test got 96. Not 496, not 960 - just 96, two digits.
The passenger airbag inflates, but it stays about a foot from the dummy, and is quite narrow. The passenger has that foot of room to move out from behind the inflated airbag. The head glances the left side of the airbag and slams into the dashboard. The airbag does help enough that the impact wouldn't produce serious injury, but ouch! That's a sore head, maybe a concussion right there. HIC-15 was 622, close to but under the safe limit that shows a likelihood of serious injury.
I can see where the passenger airbag being narrow and thin would be a good thing. Recent updates to the NHTSA frontal crash test put a dummy the size of a 12 year old child in the passenger seat, with the seat all the way forward. This was the standard size male dummy. A thick passenger airbag would smother and cause dangerous impact to this dummy. I believe the airbag should be made wider instead. Since this is a "worst case scenario" test, for the vast majority of crashes this is a good passenger airbag. It scored 5 stars in the NHTSA passenger frontal crash test, a rare feat! Even this worst case scenario test led to no serious injury.
Once again, another test proving Honda safety.
I will say that Honda airbags are fairly thin compared to most. I see that as a good thing, because the airbag is less likely to cause injury. Crash test after crash test has proven them to provide excellent protection. I will, however, say that I sit fairly close to the wheel in my 2011 Honda Accord. Without a large, aggressive driver airbag to worry about, I can sit close enough to the wheel to give me ideal control - rather than have to compromise by moving back out of airbag fear. I am 6'1 and sit 12-13 inches from my wheel measured at the sternum to the hub.
This test seemed to hit at a critical angle, leaving the van "confused" as to how to protect the occupants. On the surface, it seems little different from an IIHS offset test. The IIHS test is at 40 miles per hour into a deformable barrier with 40% of the front end on the driver's side. This test is at 56 miles per hour, but only the barrier is moving; in terms of energy changed, it is more or less similar to the IIHS test. 35% of the front end is struck. But it's at a 15 degree angle.
The angle changes everything.
The IIHS test is primarily of a frontal nature; although vehicles do move to the side, and dummies move to the side inside (sometimes contacting a pillar or an inflated side airbag), this side movement often occurs later in the crash and doesn't affect the dummy's forward movement into the airbag very much. In the new small overlap test, where only 25% of the front end contacts the barrier, side movement is more severe, and if the inflated frontal airbag is too narrow or leaves too much room between the chest and the airbag, there can be undesirable movement that can lead to the head contacting hard objects. These tests only test driver front airbags, which limit lateral movement better than passenger front airbags. Driver airbags in most cars are closer to the occupant when inflated than passenger airbags - there is about half the space between the driver and the wheel as there is the passenger and the dash. Passengers can be all shapes and sizes - yes, even children, while drivers are typically within a certain range of height and weight. Hence, the driver cannot move as much and is contained in a smaller area. This is with little or no intrusion - intrusion can change the outcome dramatically. Most of the dummies missing the airbag in the IIHS small overlap test were due to intrusion.
This test shows this effect dramatically. The side movement in this crash test is violent - far worse than the average IIHS test. Both dummies are propelled forward and at a roughly 30 degree angle to the left. The steering wheel is shoved slightly to the right, but the dummy is contained by and spends lots of time with the driver airbag, which leaves little thin air for the driver to move around in. In fact, the airbag actually hits the rib cage. (Don't go selling your Odysseys, because that airbag impact wouldn't even hurt a real person). The dummy's head has to move just a few inches to hit the airbag. The body never gets to gain much momentum and forces are low. Head injury criterion for 15 milliseconds (HIC-15) has a maximum safe limit of 700. The driver in this test got 96. Not 496, not 960 - just 96, two digits.
The passenger airbag inflates, but it stays about a foot from the dummy, and is quite narrow. The passenger has that foot of room to move out from behind the inflated airbag. The head glances the left side of the airbag and slams into the dashboard. The airbag does help enough that the impact wouldn't produce serious injury, but ouch! That's a sore head, maybe a concussion right there. HIC-15 was 622, close to but under the safe limit that shows a likelihood of serious injury.
I can see where the passenger airbag being narrow and thin would be a good thing. Recent updates to the NHTSA frontal crash test put a dummy the size of a 12 year old child in the passenger seat, with the seat all the way forward. This was the standard size male dummy. A thick passenger airbag would smother and cause dangerous impact to this dummy. I believe the airbag should be made wider instead. Since this is a "worst case scenario" test, for the vast majority of crashes this is a good passenger airbag. It scored 5 stars in the NHTSA passenger frontal crash test, a rare feat! Even this worst case scenario test led to no serious injury.
Once again, another test proving Honda safety.
I will say that Honda airbags are fairly thin compared to most. I see that as a good thing, because the airbag is less likely to cause injury. Crash test after crash test has proven them to provide excellent protection. I will, however, say that I sit fairly close to the wheel in my 2011 Honda Accord. Without a large, aggressive driver airbag to worry about, I can sit close enough to the wheel to give me ideal control - rather than have to compromise by moving back out of airbag fear. I am 6'1 and sit 12-13 inches from my wheel measured at the sternum to the hub.
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