Side Impact Protection

Another new safety development in cars is the introduction of Impact Structures in to the main structure of the vehicle. This technology was introduced to contain the damage within the 'crumple zones' of the car and reduce injury to the occupants inside.

But what is a crumple zone? It is the area outside of the passenger compartment, e.g. the front or rear bodywork and even the doors. The danger is that in an accident the impact will force the metalwork into the passenger area. With improved crumple zones the energy is absorbed by the controlled deforming of the metal of the bodywork and so the occupants will be less exposed to the effects of the impact. Today, enormous attention is paid to safety and motor manufacturers are constantly improving their designs to incorporate better and safer crumple zones.

A lot of cars now also have side impact bars to lessen the amount of bodywork distortion inside the passenger and driver area. This technology has indeed proven to decrease the amount of injuries in the event of an accident.

Though we all know how the government can bend statistics to show anything it likes.

The principle behind impact structures is that the energy created during an accident is intentionally directed to the floor, bulkhead, sills, roof, bonnet; areas where these structures absorb the energy and reduce damage and intrusion to the passenger compartment. With these structures you are more likely to walk away from an accident. Your car however may be badly damaged and usually this involves a great deal of expense to put right. After all, these days even after a light shunt it can cost a fortune. Remember the days of big metal bumpers. Well that was okay in the good old days but cars were progressively getting heavier and less economical. So these were progressively ditched in favour of crumple zones, making our cars a lot safer in the process.