The evolution of crash testing

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Even as automakers and regulators devote more attention to preventing accidents altogether, crash-testing remains a vitally important part of the industry.

In fact, demand for crash-test services is growing as companies race to develop autonomous and electric vehicles — while freshening their existing fleets to keep up with strong sales — and new competitors in developing nations and the tech sector enter the market or scale up.

Across from the airport here, a $20 million indoor testing center that Calspan Corp. opened in January is busy slamming cars and trucks into various obstacles several times a day. The 58,000-square-foot site, one of the most advanced and secure independent labs in the world, can conduct 1,000 tests a year, five times the number Calspan could handle at the outdoor center it replaced.

Preparing a vehicle is an elaborate, multiday process that involves draining fluids and replacing gasoline with a special dye; coding underbody and interior sections with different paint colors to help identify where they moved on impact; setting seats and seat belts in standardized positions; running "inch tape" down the center of the car and sides to facilitate high-speed video analysis; and installing rugged data instrumentation and dummies.

"You've got to pay attention to details because you only have one chance to get this right," said Gerald Goupil Jr., Calspan's director of crash test operations. "You have to do quality checks so every test comes out perfectly."


Much more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20180812/OEM11/180819972/calspan-crash-test-collision