# Will BMW pass new NHTSA crash tests?



## Autoputzer (Mar 16, 2014)

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) justifies their existence by running tests that exceed those required by NHTSA. One of their new tests is an off-set, as shown in the photograph in the OP.

High-end German cars were designed to withstand the offset crashes (the kind that often happen in the real world) before they were part of the NHTSA tests. By making their cars strong enough to protect the occupants in an offset crash, these cars actually scored lower in the full frontal barrier tests. Most other cars were designed for optimum crash performance in the tests: "Past the bureaucrats' crash test rather than passing in a real crash."

The EU has some very strict pedestrian safety standards. A lot of BMW's in the EU have propellant-driven actuators that raises the trailing edge of the hood about six or eight inches during a pedestrian impact. This allows the pedestrian to hit the windshield at a greater angle, reducing their injuries.


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