Would Your Car Survive a Texas Side-Impact Car Accident?

When you first purchased your car, you probably considered its safety rating in case of an accident.  While you may be reasonably protected from a head-on crash, you may not have considered the effects of a side-impact collision for passengers in the back seat.  

Luckily, both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety perform separate tests on all new vehicles to see how they would stand up in a Texas t-bone crash:

• The NHTSA uses two crash-test dummies weighing 170 pounds, one in the driver’s seat and the other directly behind the driver.  A barrier weighing 3,000 lbs is then slammed into the driver’s side of the vehicle at 40 mph, and the trauma to the dummy’s head, neck, chest, and pelvis is measured.  The NHTSA bases its star ratings one (over 26 percent chance of injury) to five (5 percent or less chance of injury).

• Since research indicates that the passengers most likely to be injured in a side-impact crash are people of small stature (such as women, teenagers and children), the IIHS test uses two dummies that are 5 feet tall and weigh 110 pounds, the size of an average 12-year-old.  The IIHS measures the impact of injury and gives one comprehensive side-impact rating ranging from “good” to “poor.”

As Houston accident lawyers, we know that the extent of injuries in a crash depend not only on the car, but who was involved in the accident.  Teenagers and children are common occupants of the backseat and can suffer extreme injuries in side-impact collisions.

For more information, order our FREE book, The Insider's Guide to Winning Your Texas Car Accident Case, or call an attorney at Vujasinovic & Beckcom today at (877) 724-7800 for a free consultation.