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Old 01-22-2014, 07:33 AM   #2 (permalink)
RedDevil
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That is a very specific kind of collision, hitting a hard and straight edged wall at the perimeter of the car.
Which may happen if you hit a house, square pillar or shipping container or such.
In collisions with other cars the forces get distributed differently, it may yield a different result. In all likelyhood it will get pushed sideways somewhat reducing the structural damage.

It would be relatively easy to adapt for these kind of collisions, for instance by strengthening the corners as to divert the impact over a wider front section.
However that may have a negative impact on the ability to handle other types of collisions.
If this kind of collision does not occur very often, testing for it may force car manufacturers to build cars that are less safe in a general perspective.

Collision testing must be a mix of all kinds of collisions, to avoid the risk that car manufacturers build cars specifically designed to handle just the tested collisions well and fail miserably in other aspects.

Collisions with fixed objects are a bit suspect, as the presence of those is a road safety issue. You should not encounter those on a safely built road.
There will always be other road users so collision testing with other vehicles is a must.
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