Quote Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit View Post
14% faster speed difference when there is 40 mph? most of that speed (the extra 5mph?) would be absorbed from the collapsable (deformable) barrier.

crashes never really happen like testing anyhow. never. human judgement and error are involved, as well as compensation.
You're right, both attempt to model collisions between similar sized cars with US at 35 MPH and Euro at ~34 MPH. However, something still has to account for the gross difference in results for 2006. Just focused on the secondary impact with the steering wheel which earned the slash on the Euro test, either the restraint system failed to perform or there was greater movement in the steering column (or both).... [assuming someone didn't bungle the test/model]. While the way the barrier deformed could have affected the second, the difference in speed could have affected either. The distribution of serious injury/fatal accidents around 35 MPH impact speed is surprizingly tight, so 5 MPH makes a huge difference in outcome.... and the dummy was still brought to a halt from ~40 MPH. It probably didn't see the full force of the additional 5 MPH for the reasons you gave, but it saw some of it... enough to account for the less favorable results, anyway.

Agree other factors, like the mind behind the wheel, are much more significant to safety, but didn't want to diverge. This is why I have little anxiety over the "pelvic injury" risk in our 2004 HB. Still, I respect that the difference in risk between the 2004 and 2010 model years is real and would consider it if in the market. But then I've been "the barrier" in the majority of my accidents; there's little opportunity for compensation when you're not moving. For those situations, the NCAP tests are a good relative comparison for safety assuming the striking vehicle is of a similar size.... and that is a BIG assumption, especially in the land of full-size pickups.