In conjunction with the annual NPTC conference, LifeGuard Technologies, a division of IMMI, conducted a facility tour and commercial vehicle barrier crash test on April 30th to demonstrate the company’s products and capabilities.
CAPE
The Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE) at IMMI conducts crash tests, rollover tests and environmental tests, capturing performance data through the use of sophisticated imaging and data acquisition technology. CAPE houses the world’s only 90-degree rollover impact machine for commercial vehicles as well as the largest barrier facility of its kind for evaluating crash worthiness of large commercial vehicles. Extensive and rigorous testing of every LifeGuard Technologies product enables the company to deliver dependable, high quality safety systems to its commercial vehicle customers.
The April 30 Test
The full-scale barrier crash test was conducted with a heavy-duty box truck, weighing about 15,000 pounds. At 1.9 million pounds, the barrier block is the largest in the world, enabling the company to run the highest energy tests of the largest vehicles. CAPE can crash vehicles at up to 65mph as well as those weighing over 80,000 pounds.
The truck used in the April 30 test contained two anthropomorphic test devices, more commonly called “test dummies,” which represented average sized male occupants. The dummy in the driver’s position was protected by a LifeGuard Technologies lap-shoulder seat belt and 4Front driver’s air bag. The dummy in the passenger’s position was unbelted.
All indications from head injury criteria and recorded chest g’s indicate the driver would have easily survived this crash. The seatbelt retained him in his seat, and the airbag inflated to protect his head from impact with the steering wheel. The unbelted passenger struck the windshield with such force that his head snapped back, and the back of his head contacted his upper back. A comparison of the test video and results from both occupants provides convincing reasons for drivers of heavy trucks to wear their seatbelts every mile.
For more information, visit http://www.lifeguardtechnologies.com/.
