Crash Tests Support Mismatch Risks

U.S. safety regulators released crash-test results Tuesday that showed a driver of a Honda Accord was twice as likely to sustain severe injuries when struck in the side by a Ford Explorer than if hit by three other smaller vehicles.

The preliminary results are consistent with federal accident data that indicate that light trucks--sport-utility vehicles, minivans and pickups--pose a danger to passenger cars in collisions, regulators said.

But Ricardo Martinez, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said more research is needed before determining what steps can be taken to minimize vehicle size mismatches.

“We are really at the early stages of understanding this,” Martinez said.

The crash-test results, released at an international safety conference here, are part of a broad study of vehicle compatibility. It was undertaken because the number of deaths from accidents involving light trucks and cars is rising.

Light trucks make up a third of all vehicles on the road but are involved in half the fatal crashes involving multiple vehicles. In crashes between cars and trucks in 1996, car occupants accounted for 81% of the 5,259 deaths.

The crash tests involving the Accord and Explorer were part of a series conducted earlier this year at the NHTSA’s research center in Ohio to increase understanding of the dynamics of truck-car collisions.

The tests simulated a side-impact crash of popular vehicles traveling at 30 mph into another going 15 mph. The four tests involved a Chevrolet S10 pickup, Explorer sport-utility, Dodge Caravan minivan and a Lumina mid-size sedan. All were propelled into the side of a 1997 Accord.

Sensors placed on driver and passenger dummies in each vehicle indicated the chance of fatalities in any of the crashes was unlikely. The most severe injuries were suffered by the Accord driver when struck by the Explorer, which weighed 1,200 pounds more than the car.

According to the NHTSA’s analysis, the Accord driver had a 78% chance of serious thoracic injury--damage to the upper body from the neck to the pelvis, such as a broken rib. The chance of severe injury was 40%; critical injury, 5%.

In contrast, the chance of severe injury caused by the pickup was 18%; minivan, 19%; and mid-size sedan, 20%.

The damage caused by the Lumina surprised regulators somewhat, but they said it was still within the parameters expected, given the weight of the vehicle. The Lumina weighed 500 pounds more than the Accord.

General Motors and Ford said the results confirm what they had contended all along: that when a heavier vehicle hits a smaller one, the lighter one will suffer more damage. The Explorer weighed 600 pounds more than any of the other striking vehicles.

“Mass is an overwhelming factor in crash outcomes,” said Terry Connolly, director of GM’s safety engineering center.

However, Martinez said tests show that vehicles of similar weight can cause different levels of damage in crashes because of higher ride heights or the stiffness of their frames.

Ford released its own tests of the Explorer and a Mercedes ML320 sport-utility. Both were slammed into a Taurus. Company officials said the Taurus held up better than the Accord and that the Explorer caused less injury than the Mercedes to the dummies’ pelvic region, though more to the mid-section.