subject: Testing The Bumper Effect In Hondas, Toyotas [print this page] Even at very slow speeds a rear-end collision could end up costing thousands of dollars. The reason for this is the variety of bumpers out on the road. Right now there is no regulation for standardizing bumpers on cars, trucks, SUVs and vans.
The Insurance Institute recently tested the outcome of accidents between a car and a small SUV by choosing one of each from seven different automakers, and then caused them to run into each other at 10 mph, both with the car striking the SUV from behind, and the SUV rear-ending the car. The difference in total damage ranged from $2,995 when a Honda CR-V collided with a Honda Civic, to $9,867 caused when a Toyota Corolla rear-ended a Toyota RAV4.
So why is the cost so high, even at low speeds? According to the Insurance Institute, the main issue is the bumper height and quality. Although all vehicles drive on the same roads, they do not all follow the same regulations when it comes to design, especially in the bumper. Federal laws require cars to have bumpers between 16 and 20 inches from the ground, while trucks and SUVs have no bumper regulations at all. Even car-based crossovers do not follow a cars bumper height law. As a result, when a car rear-ends an SUV, the bumper of the car often passes underneath the SUVs, which leads to expensive damage.
And the bulk of this damage is not always on the car. In the most expensive accident, between Toyotas Corolla and RAV4, the larger RAV4 accounted for the majority of the cost, with $6,015 in damage.
Another issue that contributes to the high cost is the quality of the bumpers. The two Honda vehicles that were tested, the Civic and CR-V, had the smallest difference in bumper height, but still accumulated $3,000 in damage. The Insurance Institute attributes this to bumpers being weaker than they used to be. Although they were once required to endure impacts at five miles-per-hour, bumpers now only have to withstand collisions at half of that speed to pass inspection.
However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disagrees. While they acknowledge that todays bumpers have become slightly weaker, they claim that this has only led to a slight increase in repair cost. They also state that weaker bumpers are necessary, because higher regulations would negatively affect the functionality and off-road performance of trucks and SUVs. Additionally, although these issues have resulted in a higher cost and more damage to the vehicle, they have not compromised the safety of the passengers.
Consumers also have differing thoughts about this issue. Some people believe all vehicles should follow the same regulations, while others feel that vehicles with different functionalities should have different standards, and the higher bumpers on trucks and SUVs are essential for job performance and driving in inclement weather.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration accepted comments from the public on this issue through August 2009, and may make regulation changes after reviewing all of the comments, as well as studying other data acquired.
