How to Judge the Safety of a Car and Interpret Crash Test Results?

In choosing a car, the safety of the vehicle is an essential consideration factor, while crash test results are an important reference for assessing the safety of a car. Then, how can we accurately judge the safety of a car and interpret crash test results?

Firstly, the structural design of a car plays a crucial role in its safety. The proportion of high-strength steel used is an important indicator. High-strength steel can effectively absorb and distribute energy during a collision, reducing the impact on occupants inside the vehicle. Generally speaking, the higher the proportion of high-strength steel used, the safer the car will be. For example, some high-end cars may use hot-formed steel in key areas such as A-pillars and B-pillars, which has extremely high strength and can maintain the structural integrity of the vehicle even in severe collisions. Besides, a reasonable layout of the body structure is also very important. Excellent car designs will adopt an energy-absorbing body structure that absorbs energy through specific deformation regions during a collision, reducing the shock transmitted to occupants inside.

Safety configurations are also an important aspect of judging the safety of a car. Active safety configurations can take measures before an accident occurs to avoid or reduce the collision. Common active safety configurations include anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic stability programs (ESP). ABS can prevent wheels from locking up during braking, ensuring vehicle maneuverability; ESP can automatically adjust engine power and braking forces for individual wheels when a vehicle is experiencing unstable states such as skidding, making the vehicle stable again.

Passive safety configurations mainly protect occupants inside the vehicle during a collision. Common passive safety configurations include airbags and pretensioner seatbelts. The number and layout of airbags are crucial; in addition to the usual front-row main and assistant driver's side airbags, some cars may also be equipped with side airbags, head airbags, etc., providing more comprehensive protection for occupants inside.

Crash test results provide an intuitive basis for assessing the safety of a car. Currently, there are many well-known car crash testing institutions around the world, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States, Euro NCAP in Europe, and C-NCAP in China, etc. These institutions have different test projects and scoring standards.

When viewing crash test results, it is not enough to simply focus on the final star rating or level; instead, you should carefully analyze each test's specific scores and details. For example, in the frontal crash test, you should look at the dummy injury indices for different body regions such as head, chest, leg, etc.; In side impact tests, you should pay attention to the deformation of the car door and its protective effect on dummies.

It is necessary to comprehensively consider multiple aspects, including a car's structural design, safety configurations, etc., when judging its safety. When interpreting crash test results, you need to deeply analyze each detail and data, so as to accurately assess the safety performance of the car and provide reliable evidence for your purchasing decisions.