The United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced a tougher safety standard to reduce the chance of post-crash vehicle fires. The changes include a more realistic high-speed rear-impact crash test at 50 mph, the agency said in a press release.
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“Preventing fuel leaks in a crash is critical for preventing occupant death and injury from fire,” said NHTSA administrator Jeffrey Runge. “Although fires are relatively rare, they often have very severe consequences. These new tests can save lives and prevent terrible injuries.”
Instead of the current rear crash test using a flat, rigid barrier at 30 mph (about 50km/h), the new test uses a lighter, deformable barrier more representative of a typical vehicle’s front end. The new barrier will strike the test vehicle at a speed of 50 mph (about 80km/h). Further, the new test is an offset test in which the crash forces are focused on just 70% of the rear end. Under the current test, the entire rear end of a vehicle is struck by the test barrier.
The current side impact fuel system integrity test is also being upgraded. Instead of using a flat, rigid barrier striking the test vehicle straight from the side at 20 mph (about 30km/h), the test will be conducted at 33.5 mph with the deformable barrier.
The new standard sets three separate limits on fuel spillage from crash-tested vehicles: 28 grams (one ounce) during the impact of the crash; a total of 142 grams (five ounces) during the next five-minute time period; and 28 grams (one ounce) during any one-minute interval in the 25-minute period after that.
The agency estimates that the average cost for vehicles that will need to be modified to comply with the upgraded rear impact test is $US5.31 per vehicle and also estimates that 46% of the vehicle fleet does not currently meet the upgraded rear impact test, and that approximately 16.7 million vehicles are sold each year, leading to a total cost for the fleet of approximately $41 million per year.
Among the benefits NTHSA sees from this rule is an estimated eight to 21 lives saved annually, once all vehicles on the road meet the new tests.
Manufacturers will be given until US model year 2009 for full compliance with the new rear impact requirements under a phase-in schedule and until model year 2005 for full compliance with the new side impact requirements. The regulation applies to all passenger cars, light trucks, sport utility vehicles and buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds.
A report in the Detroit News said that NHTSA was looking at upgrading its collision standards even before it conducted a 2002 probe of Ford’s Crown Victoria police cars, in which 14 people have died in fiery rear-end crashes since 1983, but the safety agency concluded it would have been difficult for any vehicle to withstand the high-speed crashes that caused those deaths.
General Motors spokesman Jim Schell told the paper the company anticipated the ruling and was already redesigning its car and truck models to comply.
“This test is going to do some good,” Schell reportedly said, adding: “Some vehicles will have to be upgraded to pass. We’ll meet the letter of the law.”
Eron Shosteck, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in Washington, told the Detroit News that most of the group’s 10 member companies were still studying the proposal.
