The Importance of Crashworthiness

There are a lot of possible reasons behind a car accident. However, it’s been said that human error makes up the biggest percentage of those causes. The simplest actions done by the driver or passenger without care or consideration may mean a lifetime of suffering to those who will be affected by the accident.

Aside from human error, machine or auto defect may also be grounds for a vehicular accident. But in this case, the driver or passenger is not liable for it (unless the fault is shared), the liability is with the company that manufactured the car with defects. That’s because companies have a standard of care that must be followed, and selling faulty products is proof that they neglected care during manufacturing.

It is gravely important for manufacturers to make sure that their products are a hundred percent safe. Just recently, a lot of companies have been recalling particular models of their car due to defects found. If the defective automobile caused harm to a person, the company may have to go through the grueling process of litigation.

In order to safeguard their customers, and their reputation as well, companies should do a regular check on their car models. One way to do this is by checking for auto defects and crashworthiness. Crashworthiness is the ability of a vehicle to withstand impact and protects its occupants from injuries.

There are different criteria used in determining crashworthiness and the probability of injury, depending on how the impact happened or which part of the vehicle was struck. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the following are checked during crashworthiness rulemaking activities.

• Advanced air bags
• Advanced glazing
• Frontal offset
• Head restraints
• Roof crush resistance
• Seat performance in rear impacts
• Side impact occupant protection

Judging by these activities, it’s obvious that crashworthiness puts priority to the safety features of the vehicle. In cases that concern crashworthiness, the cause of an accident is irrelevant, but it may hold the manufacturer liable for any injury if the defect in safety features made or caused worse injuries to the occupants.

Differentiating the injuries from the accident itself and the injuries from the defect may be quite difficult, but the victim must prove it or else no compensation will be awarded.


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