Ford F-150 And Dodge Ram Fare Poorly In Safety Test
June 5, 2001
Ford Motor Company is again facing scrutiny, however the latest safety controversy surround's the company's Ford F-150 full size pickup truck rather than the much-maligned Explorer. In crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Ford F-150 received the watchdog group's lowest rating.
The Institute tested the Ford F-150 along with the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra, the Dodge Ram, and the Toyota Tundra. The Institute's so-called "offset test" measures a vehicle's integrity by sending it into a deformable barrier at 40 mph. However, unlike crash tests performed by the Federal government, the Institute's offset test only involves 40% of the front of the subject vehicle. In other words, vehicles subjected to the offset test collide with the barrier just to the left of the hood ornament. Offset tests are useful in evaluating the structural integrity of vehicles.
According to Ford's web site "Truck-lovers know the strength of a 'Built Ford Tough Truck.'" However, the Institute's test appears to contradict the toughness of the Ford F-150. According to Institute president Brian O'Neill, the F-150 "exhibited major collapse of the occupant compartment in the offset test. . . . As a result of this collapse, the dummy's movement wasn't well controlled. High injury measures were recorded on the dummy's head and neck. The airbag deployed late in the crash, and this also contributed to the high injury measures." O'Neill went on to say that the simulated crash of the F-150 would have likely resulted in a fatality. "This is as bad as it gets in terms of crash performance," O'Neill commented. When asked what he would do if he owned an F-150 O'Neill replied, "I'd get rid of it, . . . I wouldn't put my family, my wife or myself in a vehicle like this."
The Dodge Ram pickup did not fare much better in the Institute's test. Like the F-150, the Ram also received the lowest rating, "poor." Of the Ram test results O'Neill said, "A person in a crash like this would not be doing well." The Institute rated the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra marginal while the Toyota Tundra received the best safety rating.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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