GRAZ (AUSTRIA), March 22: Passenger safety and care for the environment have become the two most important buzz words in the auto world and all world class car manufacturers have begun to apply the stringent norms in the manufacture of their vehicles.Austrian auto giant Steyr Daimler puch is one such company which has exacting standards for its stable top of the line jeeps and cars and conducts tests for leading automobile manufacturers in the world.
"They come from all over the world, the US, Europe, Japan, and we put their cars through the most rigorous tests and evaluate the results on safety norms for them," says Wolfgang Korner, head of vehicle safety engineering and R and D department of Steyr.
Europe today has the highest standards for vehicle safety and there are three different standards a car has to muster before it is marked for exports -- the American, the European and Japanese, Fan Den Ouver, managing director, Steyr said.
Ouver, who will be heading Steyr's operations in India from Pune,said if Indian automobile manufacturers were interested Steyr could consider creating such test facilities in India.
With cars having fast pickup these days, automobile accidents are common and it is an acid test for the vehicle manufacturer to ensure how best the driver and the passengers come out with as little injuries as possible from a mishap.
The most famous automobile accident that hit world headlines is the car crash that killed Diana and her friend Dodi Al Fayed in Paris. But one of the passengers survived the horrendous impact of the crash.
"This only goes to show how it is possible to escape from car crashes because of vehicle safety standards", Korner said.
Korner, whose company also manufactures the four by four E class Mercedez Benz, said it was one of most sturdy and safe vehicles in the world.
A car is put through a battery of tests like off road driving, front collision, side collision, rear end collision, roof crush and dynamic roll over.
All these tests evaluate the safety ofthe vehicle in the event of a head on collision or when the vehicle is hit from the back or when it loses balance in a curve at fast speed and rolls over. Korner said all modern cars have inbuilt safety devices like the inflatable air balloon for the driver and the front seat passenger which opens to cushion the impact of a head on crash. Some cars have such balloons opening on the side as well to absorb the impact of roll over crashes.
At Graz, Steyr's crash test facility, an automobile is electronically guided by its own engine power and send hurtling at 80 kmph with a dummy astride to its inevitable destiny for a head on crash with a man made obstruction.
The crash site is floodlit by more than 300 halogen lamps from all sides and there are atleast ten cameras that shoot the crash from all angles to afford detailed analysis later by experts. None is allowed to witness the crash except those who conduct it. The results of the crash both on the the dummy driver as well as on the car are kept confidentialand can be accessed only by the vehicle manufacturer. This correspondent found atleast a hundred cars lying camouflaged waiting for their crushing destiny.
Ouver said atleast a ten prototypes of the cars have to be crashed and crushed at test facilities to develop the final safe car that can be put on the roads. Vehicle manufacturers have often to spend atleast $100 to $150 million on developing a new model that is both user friendly and environment safe these days. In a dynamic rollover done on actual racing track, a car is send rolling sideways at a speed of over 50 kmph to study the impact of the collision on the vehicle and the passengers. There are also elaborate tests to evaluate the passenger comfort from the seats and head rests as also their safety aspects in the event of a crash.
Steyr's Pinzgauer, manufactured for the Austrian and other armies of the world to serve as an armoured troop carrier, was driven up a 4000 metre hill top on a specially prepared rough uneven and arduous test track.Driving up the hill for a 6000 metre stretch was like riding on a horse gone wild, this correspondent found. As the stomach turned and goose pimples surfaced at the frightful thought that the vehicle could tumble down the hill, the driver was cool in reaching the vehicle to its destination amidst cold winds and snow to his well earned beer and Austrian red wine in a shack at the mountain top.
The vehicle is essentially tested for its suspension here on this track and a driver has to undergo rigorous training for atleast three months to be able to drive a vehicle on this track in the mountains, driver Alexander said.
Korner said every vehicle coming out of their factory particularly the jeeps have to be tested on this track before they roll out of the assembly lines.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
