Auto Safety: Why You Want A Car That Crumples

Vehicles today aren’t made the same way they were 60 years ago. And that’s a good thing.

Back then, auto designs were rigid. That was good for the car—causing less damage—but not for the people occupying them.

This type of construction was deadly for passengers because the impact force went straight to the inside of the vehicle, to the passengers.

It wasn’t until 1953 that a Mercedes-Benz engineer studied the problem and came up with a prototype for our current crumple technology.

What Is A Crumple Zone?

According to Newton’s first law of physics, an object in motion will stay in motion unless intervened by an unbalanced force.

And that’s exactly what happens in an accident. If a car is moving at 50 mph and it suddenly crashes causing the vehicle to stop, the passengers will continue to move at 50 mph.

However, with today’s vehicles, the impact will not be a rigid one. Instead, the vehicle will crumple. This does cause more damage to the vehicle, but the severity of personal injury is less.

Crumple zones, usually located in the front and rear of a vehicle, act as a buffer around your car, helping to cushion the collision blow by extending deceleration time so your vehicle can stop more slowly, relatively speaking.

Even a few seconds delay in impact can mean the difference between life and death.

How Crumple Zones Are Made

There are different crumple zone designs. For example, a simple crumple zone design would include frame segments that collapse on themselves or bend in particular areas of the vehicle.

More advanced designs include the use of metals and other materials engineered specifically to absorb as much energy as possible.

High performance vehicles typically follow a honeycomb design which under normal circumstances is stiff, but during a collision can collapse and crumple.

Specific designs and materials vary by manufacturer and by vehicle weight and size. However, manufacturers share the common goal of finding the perfect balance between too much and too little impact resistance.

How Crumple Zone Technology Works

When there is an accident, a vehicle’s crumple zone helps to transfer some of the kinetic energy into a controlled impact.

Crumple zones crush like an accordion, absorbing some of the collision impact. The vehicle’s front acts as a cushion that slows the time it takes for the vehicle to stop.

This lowers the average impact force and increases survival space for belted passengers.

Other Auto Safety Features

Today, auto safety is better than ever thanks in large part to crumple zone technology. But along with it, there are other improvements that are saving lives on the road every day.

These include interior features that are designed to be more flexible such as seat belts, air bags, and head restraints.

Newer cars now come equipped with ESC, electronic stability control, which helps to detect when a skid is about to occur. The system selectively applies the brakes to different wheels allowing
greater driver control.

In short, thanks to innovative technology, cars are safer today to drive than they’ve ever been!