Ever wondered how a crash test works?
May 21st, 2008 Posted in SafetyIf you have, then you’ll be interested in a current and upcoming stories on independent Australian website CarAdvice. They recently witnessed a live crash test at the RTA’s Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). The program responsible for crash testing cars sold on the Australian market to determine their safety credentials. The CarAdvice team saw a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer VRX being tested. Here’s a couple of quotes:
“The visual of this impact is alarming, far worse than you can ever imagine.”
“It’s a pity that every driver in Australia can’t witness what we saw today. If they did, you wouldn’t think twice about the need to purchase a car with curtain airbags.”
They also took part in some controlled testing on cars fitted with and without Electronic Stability Control (ESC). For those of you thinking of buying a car that offers this as an option, please, just get it. It may sound overly dramatic, but it could save your life. To the car manufacturers who offer such systems as an option only, lift your game and make these systems standard equipment across your model range.
Read the full CarAdvice article HERE.
2 Responses to “Ever wondered how a crash test works?”
By Guran on May 22, 2008
Yup, it’s gruesome stuff. Videos of all recent EuroNCAP tests are available on-line. For example, here’s the 2007 MINI Cooper NCAP report including links to the photos and videos in the top-left corner:
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/bmw_mini_2007/288.aspx
BTW, “ESP” is not a generic acronym. It’s merely a proprietary acronym used by the majority of manufacturers. Other proprietary acronyms are DSC, DSTC, VDC, VSA, VSC, ASC, etc. The most accepted generic term is Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
By Liam on May 22, 2008
Thanks for the ESP/ESC clarification Bryan, I knew it was one of them.