This post is from a United States perspective.
Cars today are smashed from all angles soon after they go on sale. Let's look at the gauntlet of tests cars go through today:
Full frontal
Driver side offset
Driver side small overlap
Passenger side small overlap
Side impact - car sized barrier at 37 mph
Side impact - SUV sized barrier at 31 mph
Side impact into pole at 20 mph
Rear impact
Roof strength - for rollover protection
Enough consumers want that car with the IIHS Top Safety Pick and the 5 stars from NHTSA that carmakers strive to make their cars as safe as possible. Keep in mind that all tests are done with seat belts on.
But it wasn't always this way. While the first safety standards were created in the late 1960s, they only concerned features; cars did not have to pass any sort of crash testing. Crash testing was done back then, by car makers, researchers and the government, but it wasn't generally released to the public, at least as far as comparing cars go. Consumers had to take the company's word on safety, and other than a few manufacturers such as Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, companies didn't generally talk much about safety. They begrudgingly met the federal standards as they were passed.
In 1979, the first comparative crash test came out. Cars were smashed into a solid barrier at 35 mph, with driver and passenger dummies the size of an average adult male. It was crude by today's standards: head and chest injury risk was measured, and if the forces on both the head and chest for both occupants fell below a certain threshold (HIC of 1,000 and chest G's of 60) the car was deemed to have "passed". No consideration was given to leg injuries or structural performance, but structurally deficient cars had difficulty passing, so vehicles did become structurally stronger. The pass/fail system was discarded in 1981, and the force results were released on their own; a 5-star system was introduced in 1993.
Until 1995, this crash test was the only one conducted for comparative purposes. That year, IIHS came out with the 40% offset test at 40 mph; this test covered risk of injury to the whole body (head, neck, chest, legs, and feet). NHTSA introduced a second crash test, a side impact with a car sized barrier moving at 37 mph, in 1997. This test only measured injuries to the chest, which are the most common types of life threatening injuries in this type of crash. IIHS also introduced a rear impact rating in 1997, but it only covered the geometry of the head restraint and did not involve any actual dynamic testing.
Going into the new millennium, there were only 4 types of crash tests done on new cars, 3 of which didn't cover all types of potential injuries in their rating. But things were about to get much better.
2003 saw the introduction of a new side impact test, done at 31 mph with an SUV-sized barrier, conducted by IIHS. Although at a lower speed than the NHTSA barrier, the test was more difficult because the barrier was taller, heavier, and struck a weaker part of the car; also, head, neck, chest, and pelvic injuries were measured. In 2004, the IIHS rear-impact test was updated to include an actual seat and dummy that measured the likelihood of whiplash in a 20-mph rear impact. In 2009, IIHS introduced its third new test in just 6 years, a roof-strength test, where a metal plate pushes on one side of the roof to measure how much force it can take before crushing 5 inches.
The 2010's easily saw the most progress in crash testing of any decade. To start, NHTSA revamped its entire testing regimen in 2010 for 2011 model vehicles. The full frontal test now takes into account injuries to the head, neck, chest, and legs; the side impact, the head, neck, chest, and pelvis. The exact injury thresholds were also made tougher. In addition, a new side-pole test was introduced, where the car hit a pole at 20 mph, directly on the driver's door. The pole is lined up directly with the driver's head, so it's all but impossible to pass this test without an effective head-protecting airbag. Small overlap tests for both driver and passenger sides were introduced by the IIHS in 2012 and 2017 respectively; these involve only 25% of the front end, and are much harder structurally than a regular offset (now called moderate overlap) test.
What's next for crash testing? IIHS is currently doing research testing to raise the speed of their side-impact test from 31 to 37 mph. NHTSA is doing research testing to introduce an oblique crash test, which is likely to launch soon.
Cars today are smashed from all angles soon after they go on sale. Let's look at the gauntlet of tests cars go through today:
Full frontal
Driver side offset
Driver side small overlap
Passenger side small overlap
Side impact - car sized barrier at 37 mph
Side impact - SUV sized barrier at 31 mph
Side impact into pole at 20 mph
Rear impact
Roof strength - for rollover protection
Enough consumers want that car with the IIHS Top Safety Pick and the 5 stars from NHTSA that carmakers strive to make their cars as safe as possible. Keep in mind that all tests are done with seat belts on.
But it wasn't always this way. While the first safety standards were created in the late 1960s, they only concerned features; cars did not have to pass any sort of crash testing. Crash testing was done back then, by car makers, researchers and the government, but it wasn't generally released to the public, at least as far as comparing cars go. Consumers had to take the company's word on safety, and other than a few manufacturers such as Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, companies didn't generally talk much about safety. They begrudgingly met the federal standards as they were passed.
In 1979, the first comparative crash test came out. Cars were smashed into a solid barrier at 35 mph, with driver and passenger dummies the size of an average adult male. It was crude by today's standards: head and chest injury risk was measured, and if the forces on both the head and chest for both occupants fell below a certain threshold (HIC of 1,000 and chest G's of 60) the car was deemed to have "passed". No consideration was given to leg injuries or structural performance, but structurally deficient cars had difficulty passing, so vehicles did become structurally stronger. The pass/fail system was discarded in 1981, and the force results were released on their own; a 5-star system was introduced in 1993.
Until 1995, this crash test was the only one conducted for comparative purposes. That year, IIHS came out with the 40% offset test at 40 mph; this test covered risk of injury to the whole body (head, neck, chest, legs, and feet). NHTSA introduced a second crash test, a side impact with a car sized barrier moving at 37 mph, in 1997. This test only measured injuries to the chest, which are the most common types of life threatening injuries in this type of crash. IIHS also introduced a rear impact rating in 1997, but it only covered the geometry of the head restraint and did not involve any actual dynamic testing.
Going into the new millennium, there were only 4 types of crash tests done on new cars, 3 of which didn't cover all types of potential injuries in their rating. But things were about to get much better.
2003 saw the introduction of a new side impact test, done at 31 mph with an SUV-sized barrier, conducted by IIHS. Although at a lower speed than the NHTSA barrier, the test was more difficult because the barrier was taller, heavier, and struck a weaker part of the car; also, head, neck, chest, and pelvic injuries were measured. In 2004, the IIHS rear-impact test was updated to include an actual seat and dummy that measured the likelihood of whiplash in a 20-mph rear impact. In 2009, IIHS introduced its third new test in just 6 years, a roof-strength test, where a metal plate pushes on one side of the roof to measure how much force it can take before crushing 5 inches.
The 2010's easily saw the most progress in crash testing of any decade. To start, NHTSA revamped its entire testing regimen in 2010 for 2011 model vehicles. The full frontal test now takes into account injuries to the head, neck, chest, and legs; the side impact, the head, neck, chest, and pelvis. The exact injury thresholds were also made tougher. In addition, a new side-pole test was introduced, where the car hit a pole at 20 mph, directly on the driver's door. The pole is lined up directly with the driver's head, so it's all but impossible to pass this test without an effective head-protecting airbag. Small overlap tests for both driver and passenger sides were introduced by the IIHS in 2012 and 2017 respectively; these involve only 25% of the front end, and are much harder structurally than a regular offset (now called moderate overlap) test.
What's next for crash testing? IIHS is currently doing research testing to raise the speed of their side-impact test from 31 to 37 mph. NHTSA is doing research testing to introduce an oblique crash test, which is likely to launch soon.
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