Post by Dan on Mar 14, 2013 13:00:54 GMT -6
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (iihs.org)
New crash tests: Underride guards on most big rigs leave passenger vehicle occupants at risk in certain crashes
"Semitrailers are required to have underride guards. These are steel bars that hang from the backs of trailers to prevent the front of a passenger vehicle from moving underneath during a crash. Earlier research showed that the minimum strength and dimensions required for underride guards are inadequate, prompting the Institute to petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2011 for tougher standards."
In each crash test, a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu struck a parked truck at 35 mph. In the first scenario, the car was aimed at the center of the trailer. All eight guards successfully prevented underride, including one from Hyundai Translead, whose previous model failed a full-width test by IIHS. In the second test, in which only half the width of the car overlapped with the trailer, all but one trailer passed. However, when the overlap was reduced to 30 percent, every trailer except one from the Canadian manufacturer Manac failed. Manac sells dry van trailers in the U.S. under the name Trailmobile. The Institute uses a 30 percent overlap for the most challenging underride test because it is the minimum overlap under which a passenger vehicle occupant's head is likely to strike a trailer if an underride guard fails."
"Manac, the only trailer to pass the 30 percent test, takes a different approach. The supports of its underride guard are attached to a reinforced floor and spaced just 18 inches from the edge. The Malibu and the dummy inside it not only fared better, but the Manac trailer also had damage estimates among the lowest of all the trailers. It required only a replacement underride guard."
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"The Institute previously released the results of an initial round of crash testing on three semitrailers conducted in 2010 and 2011. The weakest guard tested at that time was from Hyundai. When the Malibu hit the center of the Hyundai trailer at 35 mph in a full-width crash, the guard broke, resulting in catastrophic underride."(test footage)
"In contrast, a Wabash trailer had no underride in either the full-width or the 50 percent overlap test. However, when the Wabash was put through a 30 percent overlap test, the underride was catastrophic. That's because the Malibu hit the guard outside its vertical attachment bar, causing the unsupported end of the guard to bend forward. The Wabash underride guard hasn't been redesigned since then."
Man, that shot at 1:04-1:09, that's just terrifying
New crash tests: Underride guards on most big rigs leave passenger vehicle occupants at risk in certain crashes
"Semitrailers are required to have underride guards. These are steel bars that hang from the backs of trailers to prevent the front of a passenger vehicle from moving underneath during a crash. Earlier research showed that the minimum strength and dimensions required for underride guards are inadequate, prompting the Institute to petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2011 for tougher standards."
In each crash test, a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu struck a parked truck at 35 mph. In the first scenario, the car was aimed at the center of the trailer. All eight guards successfully prevented underride, including one from Hyundai Translead, whose previous model failed a full-width test by IIHS. In the second test, in which only half the width of the car overlapped with the trailer, all but one trailer passed. However, when the overlap was reduced to 30 percent, every trailer except one from the Canadian manufacturer Manac failed. Manac sells dry van trailers in the U.S. under the name Trailmobile. The Institute uses a 30 percent overlap for the most challenging underride test because it is the minimum overlap under which a passenger vehicle occupant's head is likely to strike a trailer if an underride guard fails."
"Manac, the only trailer to pass the 30 percent test, takes a different approach. The supports of its underride guard are attached to a reinforced floor and spaced just 18 inches from the edge. The Malibu and the dummy inside it not only fared better, but the Manac trailer also had damage estimates among the lowest of all the trailers. It required only a replacement underride guard."
"
"The Institute previously released the results of an initial round of crash testing on three semitrailers conducted in 2010 and 2011. The weakest guard tested at that time was from Hyundai. When the Malibu hit the center of the Hyundai trailer at 35 mph in a full-width crash, the guard broke, resulting in catastrophic underride."(test footage)
"In contrast, a Wabash trailer had no underride in either the full-width or the 50 percent overlap test. However, when the Wabash was put through a 30 percent overlap test, the underride was catastrophic. That's because the Malibu hit the guard outside its vertical attachment bar, causing the unsupported end of the guard to bend forward. The Wabash underride guard hasn't been redesigned since then."
Man, that shot at 1:04-1:09, that's just terrifying