New Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests demonstrate that: “SUV bumpers that don’t line up with those on cars can lead to huge repair bills in what should be minor collisions in stop-and-go traffic.”
Apparently there are federal rules that require cars to have bumpers to protect them within a zone of 16 to 20 inches from the ground. There are no such requirements for SUVs and light trucks.
In the tests, an SUV going 10 mph struck the back of its paired car, which was stopped. Then the configuration was reversed, with the car striking the back of its paired SUV. Results of these low-speed impacts varied widely, from a total of $850 damage to one vehicle to $6,015 damage to another.
The problem reflects yet another in a huge list of examples of how government neglects safety issues that cause unnecessary costs and potential injuries. It also shows how government and large companies fail to work hand-in-hand to solve what would seem to be simple problems.
The bumper-to-bumper crashes almost certainly raise insurance costs, so the entire bumper system from design, to building, to insuring, to testing, to regulation, to government oversight is broken. It’s too bad. Then again, what is $6,000 in damage in a world in which the car companies are making money again?
Douglas A McIntyre
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