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Offset Crash Test Results

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducts frontal crash tests involving the full width of the front of an automobile into a solid barrier, maximizing the energy absorbed by the front of the automobile so that the occupant compartment is more likely to remain intact.  Full frontal tests can produce high level occupant decelerations, thus, making the test extremely demanding of the passenger restraint system.  This provides for better information on the safety features as well as their over all performance in a full frontal impact accident.

In other offset crash tests, only one side of an automobile’s front end is struck, leaving a smaller area of the car absorbing the energy from the crash test.  Offset crashes are very demanding on the over all structure and passenger compartment.   Intrusion into the passenger compartment is more likely in these tests.   Currently, the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration does not perform these tests.

You can obtain critical information regarding one sided offset crashes at http://www.iihs.org/