Benefits of Modern Technological Progress
Many cars created years ago were built to endure, yet there is no debate that more contemporary motor vehicles are considerably safer than they were several decades ago. The development of this field has saved numerous lives through the years, so much so that certain automobile enterprises, including Volvo, have made a guarantee of zerot fatalities when it comes to safety. The Australasian New Car Assessment Program began researching cars in 1993 and recently tested one of the original nine cars used for the first trial, which happened 30 years ago.
ANCAP recently selected a later model of the Mitsubishi Magna (TR) and crashed it into a wall that was in motion. Appearances may have made it seem like the mid-size sedan performed acceptably for its age, yet this was not the case. Dummy injury measurements taken during the impact showed the driver would most likely have endured a great danger of a fatal injury to their head and brain due to the lack of airbag in the wheel.
Not only was the driver at significant risk of severe harm to both their upper and lower limbs and pelvis, but they were also moderately injured in the chest region. It becomes even more alarming when ANCAP maintains that the backseat rider of the Mitsubishi most likely would have endured serious wounds principally in the abdominal sector after sliding under the lap portion of the seatbelt.
ANCAP has released an excerpt from the original crash test report conducted in 1993, and it’s nothing short of alarming: “The Magna driver dummy’s forehead collided with the top of the steering wheel rim and its face connected with the top of the steering wheel column during the crash. The mid-range head injury criteria pointed to the potential of brain injury. The passenger dummy’s head struck the dashboard with a high-range head injury criteria, implying that brain damage was probable.”
In 2017, ANCAP emphasized the impressive advancements made in vehicle security by carrying out a crash test that consisted of head-on impact at 40 mph (64 km/h) between a pre-owned 1998 Toyota Corolla and its 2015 derivative. In case you weren’t aware, the clip has been included beneath.
Source: ANCAP
