This article concerns upgraded testing standards for car side impact performance in the USA. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) intends to change from one compliance test to four, adding a pole impact test and changing the dummies used in the tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) criticises the NHTSA for retaining an out-of-date moving deformable barrier which no longer represents the shape of many cars on the road. The side impact dummy is to be changed to one that is more biofidelic, but the IIHS criticises the NHTSA for modifying the dummy representing a small woman, and for not positioning the dummy where a real person would sit. The IIHS also feels that chest deflection data should be gathered in the tests as this is a good predictor of injury risk.
Samenvatting