Mercedes-Benz "Fintail", an early example of a car with crumple zones

The crumple zone on the front of these cars absorbed the impact of a head-on collision

Activated rear crumple zone

A crash test illustrates how a crumple zone absorbs energy from a crash.

The crumple zone of a vehicle such as a train or an automobile is a structural feature designed to compress during an accident to absorb energy from an impact. Typically, crumple zones are located in the front part of the vehicle, in order to absorb the impact of a head-on collision, though they may be found on other parts of the vehicle as well. Image File history File links Mercedes-Benz_220b_(1963). ... Image File history File links Mercedes-Benz_220b_(1963). ... Image File history File links Verkehrsunfall1. ... Image File history File links Verkehrsunfall1. ... Image File history File links Caraccidentinpleasanton(CROPPED). ... Image File history File links Caraccidentinpleasanton(CROPPED). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1182x766, 200 KB) Vehicle crash test at the General Motors Vehicle Safety and crash Worthiness Laboratory http://www. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1182x766, 200 KB) Vehicle crash test at the General Motors Vehicle Safety and crash Worthiness Laboratory http://www. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Train (disambiguation). ... Car redirects here. ... A railing accidentally collapses at a college football game, spilling fans onto the sidelines An accident is something going wrong unexpectedly. ... Standard wrong-way sign package used on all freeway off-ramps in California (and since copied by other states such as Georgia and Virginia). ...

The crumple zone concept was used by the Mercedes-Benz engineer Béla Barényi on the 1959 Mercedes-Benz "Fintail".^[1] This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Béla Barényi (1 March 1907–30 May 1997) is regarded as the father of passive safety in automobiles. ... Mercedes Benz Heckflosse is a nickname given to certain Mercedes Benz vehicles which show American influences in design including the presence of tailfins. ...

Function

Crumple zones work by managing the crash energy so that it is absorbed within the frontal section of the vehicle (energy is transformed by the deformation instead of being directly transmitted through the body of the occupants), while also preventing intrusion into or deformation of the passenger cabin. This acts to ensure that car occupants are better protected against injury. In simplistic terms, this is done by controlled weakening of outer parts of the car while strengthening the inner (passenger cabin) part of the body by using more reinforcing beams and increasingly, higher strength steels.

A common misconception about crumple zones is that they reduce safety by allowing the vehicle's body to collapse, crushing the occupants. In fact, crumple zones are located in front and behind of the main body of the car, compacting within the space of the engine compartment or boot. The marked improvement over the past two decades in high speed crash test results and real-life accidents also belies any such fears. Modern vehicles using what are commonly termed 'crumple zones' provide, on average, far superior protection for their occupants in severe tests than older models.

The only other general downside to crumple zones is that repair costs are higher in "fender bender" accidents.

The 2004 Pininfarina Nido Experimental Safety Vehicle locates crumple zones inside the Survival Cell. Those interior crumple zones decelerate a sled-mounted survival cell.^[2] Pininfarina logo. ... Volvo VESC (1972) Mercedes-Benz ESF22 (1973) Mini SRV4 (1974) Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESV) is the designation for experimental concept cars used to test car safety ideas. ...

See also

• Automobile safety
• Crash test

Passive safety redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

References

External links

• Crumple Zones in Automobiles
• Crumple Zones(How Do Crumple Zones Work)

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