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Highway safety institute details underride collision test methods in Youtube video


July 2, 2013   by Canadian Underwriter


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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is testing different types of trailers to see how badly cars get damaged when they rear-end transport trucks, and has posted a new video discussing the results.

Collision

Arlington, Va.-based IIHS announced Tuesday it has posted a video to its Youtube channel. In that video, dubbed understanding underride, IIHS officials explained the institute bought eight different trailers and observed what happens when a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu hits those trailers from behind. 

IIHS last March stated its underride tests show the guards generally work well except in crashes occurring at the outer edges of trailers.

IIHS tested underride collisions because it found occupants of vehicles rear-ending transport trucks were still getting injured or killed even though they had seatbelts on and the cars has airbags. So IIHS officials decided to compare different designs in the same crash conditions.

After the crashes, they took detailed measurements to determine where the crash test dummies were hit and how far the trailers intruded into the cars.

“Underride guards are steel bars that hang from the backs of semitrailers to keep smaller vehicles from sliding underneath in a crash,” IIHS stated in a July 2 press release announcing the Youtube channel. “When they don’t work, the consequences can be deadly.”

Other videos in the series posted over the last several weeks focus on frontal offset testing, measuring roof strength, rating children’s booster seats and side testing.

IIHS, which was founded by three insurance associations, is an independent, non-profit organization that aims to reduce losses from vehicle collisions.


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