Bumper Test Results
2009 August 6
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently conducted a series of bumper tests on midsize sedans. These tests were aimed less at safety and more at determining how much that fender-bender is going to cost you and how well bumpers perform. From the New York Times:
A good bumper, according to the institute, has to be tall enough to engage with the bumper of the vehicle it’s colliding with and to stay engaged so that the crash energy is absorbed by the bumper. If bumpers ride over or under each other, they don’t bear the brunt of the crash and parts of the vehicles themselves such as hoods, fenders, headlights or taillights are damaged instead.
While these tests are not as important in determining the safety of vehicles as others, consumers and drivers should be aware of their findings.
