Citation

Accid. Reconstr. J. 2008; 18(2): 25-31.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

For many years, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has conducted extensive crash testing, with the primary goal being to evaluate a vehicle's occupant protection capability. During much of this testing, residual crush data was also recorded. In January 1993, a new policy on orders of the corresponding films of crash tests took effect. The TRD/Docket Film Collection has been consolidated with the films of other NHTSA offices. In cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), this collection will form part of the NHTSA/FHWA National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC), located on the Ashburn, Virginia campus of George Washington University. Their website includes several thousand crash tests from these agencies and others. This article includes photos and a large table from the NCAC's 2005 Vehicle Frontal Crash Test Data series. Test speeds and crush dimensions were converted to English units, and listed curb weight was the vehicle weight (with full fluids) as delivered to the testing agency. Test weight is the vehicle weight with fluids removed and cameras, data collection equipment, and crash test dummies added. A weighted average for the average crush dimension was calculated, giving end points half-weight in the average.