Crashworthiness Safety
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Crashworthiness: Safety

Vehicle safety is determined by both accident avoidance features such as anti-lock brakes and wider tires, and crashworthiness. Crashworthiness deals primarily with the 'second collision' in which the driver and passengers collide against the interior of the vehicle. It is important to remember that crashworthiness is a feature of vehicle safety.

There are two types of vehicle safety:

  • Passive safety - passive safety features help the occupants of a vehicle reduce injuries when involved in a collision. Passive safety features include seat belts, air bags, headrests, structural integrity, and size.
  • Active safety - active safety features help drivers avoid collisions. Active safety features include tires, anti-lock brakes, traction control, night vision, and electronic stability control.

Size and weight are also an important part of vehicle safety. Bigger and heavier vehicles are usually safer when involved in a collision. If a large vehicle collides with a smaller vehicle, the smaller vehicle and its occupants will typically sustain more damage.

Structural Integrity

The structural integrity of a vehicle refers to the passenger compartment, which is called a safety cage. The safety cage is surrounded by areas called crush (or crumple) zones. These zones are designed to collapse in the event of a collision, protecting the occupants of the vehicle. Crush zones protect against front and rear-end collisions, as well as side impact collisions.

Sport Utility Vehicles

While the larger size of a sport utility vehicle generally makes it safer when involved in an accident, there are some special considerations involving rollovers:

  • The high center of gravity on most SUVs makes them more prone to rollovers.
  • According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, SUVs have the highest rollover rate in crashes with injuries and/or fatalities.
  • Very few SUVs are equipped with roll bars to protect the occupants of the vehicle in the event of a rollover.

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