How safe in your car? It's not just a matter of guarantee

[Akrapovic]

What measures safety in cars is the effectiveness of their systems and their structure.

Although there is still a long way to go, the safety of the vehicles sold in Colombia has become more important among buyers and the obligatory nature of two airbags and ABS brakes was a big step. The question is, does this guarantee that the cars are safe?

Not precisely. Looking at the results that Latin NCAP has published of the crash tests carried out, and to name just one example, we find the Chevrolet Malibu that incorporates 10 airbags. Its result: four stars in adult protection and one in protection of children.

In contrast, the Honda HR-V with two air bags achieved five stars in both sections, and with higher scores. Given the case that there were no results like these at hand we would not blame whoever bet that the Malibu was the safest of the two and with a wide advantage, but as we see, the reality is not like that.

What's going on? After making its crash tests Latin NCAP makes a visual inspection of the structure of the vehicle, which takes into account aspects such as the displacement of the steering column, the pedals and frontal parales, as well as the deformation of the foot area of the vehicle. the occupants of the front posts.

The less affected these areas, the better the result. Similarly, the measurements obtained by the dummies' sensors indicate the severity of the injuries a person would have received in their place.
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The main absorption zone of a vehicle is its front part, from the defense to the base of the windshield. If this area fulfills its purpose, the passenger compartment and passengers traveling there will be favorably protected.

The absorption zones, it is worth clarifying, do not stop at the base of the windshield and instead can continue along the vehicle to have a greater area of dissipation of energy and thus achieve better protection of the occupants.

In any case, the deformation as a result of the crash should not reach the structure of the passenger compartment and ideally it should be possible that all the doors can be opened to facilitate, if necessary, the work of a rescue team.

The faster and easier you can get the occupants of the vehicle accident, the better. But the performance of the structure of the vehicle, as well as the effectiveness of the airbags, should be a last resort, since the ideal is that the accident can be avoided. This is achieved thanks to active safety systems, such as brakes with ABS, stability control and autonomous braking. Systems that, by the way, are already a mandatory requirement in other markets.

In an emergency maneuver the ABS will prevent the wheels from locking during braking so that the driver can have control of the car and thus try to evade the obstacle or the dangerous situation. When the person fails to react is that autonomous braking comes into play, which through different sensors identifies if a person crosses the path of the vehicle and, if necessary, applies the brakes immediately.

Finally, the stability control avoids that by excessive speed the control of the car is lost, either in a curve or during some evasive maneuver. As the case may be, the system automatically 'cuts' the power and brakes the wheels according to the need (even if the driver still has his foot on the accelerator).

Unfortunately, the effectiveness of security systems can only be proven until they are called to action and that is where the importance of organizations like Global NCAP (grouping, among others, Latin NCAP), and the American IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

Each one, through its protocols and requirements, performs tests on the active safety systems and crash tests, and analyzes the effectiveness of these and the deformation of the structure of the vehicle to know what injuries the occupants would have received.

As we mentioned with the example of the Chevrolet Malibu and the Honda HR-V, the important thing is not the number of safety systems equipped by a vehicle, but the way in which they carry out their task.