The cars pass exhaustive safety tests to minimize the consequences of any blow or collision as much as possible. We tell you what they consist of and how they have evolved from the original animal tests to today’s technological innovations.

The crash tests that vehicles have to pass are increasingly demanding and serve both to grant marketing permits and to draw up rankings of the safest cars. Know more about Mercedes benz ne shitje.

A collision test is a test based on international norms and standards that is carried out in special laboratories to simulate the impact of a vehicle against a fixed or mobile element , with the aim of analyzing the behavior of the safety and occupant protection systems. and develop additional measures to improve them. They are essential before launching a vehicle on the market.

Taking all the necessary safety measures at the wheel to prevent vehicle collisions is of paramount importance to guarantee the well-being of car occupants, pedestrians and people traveling in other cars. In addition to all these measures, it is important to take out insurance that covers, at a minimum, the civil liability of the driver. With MAPFRE Car Insurance you have endless options at your disposal to find the one that best suits your needs.

Crash test types

There are several crash test modes depending on the type of impact.

The basic one is the frontal impact one , but there are also segment-specific ones to analyze the impact at specific points, such as side impact and rear impact ones . In addition to special tests to evaluate rollovers , road crashes, child safety, etc.

In the following video you can see different types of crash tests carried out by Euro-NCAP (automobile safety program supported by several European governments and manufacturers in the automotive sector) to prepare its ranking of the safest cars of the year.

How is a crash test performed?

The crash tests have a series of characteristics that make them reliable:

• In crash tests, the system to be analyzed is placed on a platform in which all the factors necessary to simulate a real impact are considered and reproduced.
• The tests are carried out under intense light , which simulates sunlight, capable of reaching 80,000 lux, so that even the smallest detail can be appreciated.
• The impacts are recorded on video at a speed of 1,000 frames per second . Later, they are played in slow motion to see all the details of the crash and to be able to study both the behavior of the materials and the effects of the impact on people.
• The speed at which these tests are carried out depends , among other factors, on the type of impact to be evaluated , the security systems or the environment. In general, for urban tests, a reduced speed is used (between 10 and 50 km/h) so as not to cause a total loss of the vehicle. The frontal impact is usually practiced at 64 km/h.
• The passenger seats are occupied by mannequins or dummies that have the proportions and dimensions of the average man and are equipped with load cells, displacement sensors and accelerometers, in order to observe and evaluate the behavior of the body during the impact.

How have crash tests evolved?

Gone are those tests where corpses, volunteers or animals were used to carry out safety tests. The latter highly questioned from an ethical point of view and that, undoubtedly, offended sensibilities and violated the rights of animals.

Fortunately, with the invention of dummies these moral objections were resolved. Since its appearance, the safety of vehicles has been proven by the crash tests carried out with these dolls.

Crash test through virtual simulation

Currently, due to the high costs generated by physical studies, the tests have been taken to the virtual world through a device with a scanner (such as the one commonly used by video game developers) with which they capture the shape of the human body in time. real.

Next, we can see a crash test using virtual simulation developed by ESI Group, a company specialized in the creation of virtual prototypes and simulators.

This system offers the advantage of being able to build virtual humans with very diverse characteristics (age, weight, height, sex, etc.) to carry out the tests, something that cannot be achieved with the classic dummies, which only imitate a man of type means, medium.

On the other hand, virtual crash tests offer a series of advantages over those carried out with dummies, since virtual human models are much cheaper and can be placed in any position. It should also be added that virtual tests allow great flexibility , since, in the event of an error, the parameters can be modified quickly and easily, something that does not happen in physical crash tests, in which, in a similar case, it would be necessary to wait for the next test to correct the problem.