In 1987 motoring clubs in europe integrated crash testing in their consumer protection programme. Since that time more than 100 frontal, side, rear impact and rollover crash tests have been carried out. Alongside this work, the clubs have developed a rating system to evaluate the performance of passive safety based on crash test results and real life accident statistics. In order to achieve the aim of obtaining the broadest possible range of information, the clubs' rating system is not restricted to dummy measurements, but also takes into account all parameters affecting passenger injuries related to the cars' assembly groups. Further evaluation calls for the test results to be converted into assessment grades. This is done by using suitable rating scales, which are based on the one hand on state-of-the-art engineering and on the other hand on the generally recognised threshold values. The rating system has been worked out predominantly for frontal and side impact and delivers both total injury risks to the occupants and injury risks to body parts like head, neck, thorax, arms, abdomen, pelvis and legs. The resulting information gives the consumer a reliable guide to the injury risks and the safety performance of each car's relevant components. (A)
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