Auto Insurance Research Org. Reports on Effects of Bumper Mismatch

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, December 07, 2010 (Press-News.org) A new study released last week by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicates that mismatches in bumper height between passenger cars and SUVs may be amplifying the costs of repairs following an accident. This is important for consumers, since getting into an expensive accident can result not only in high short-term repair costs but also in greater difficulty when trying to track down cheap auto insurance rates.

In the IIHS study, seven pairs of cars -- each comprising one passenger car and one SUV -- were involved in a total of 14 crashes. For each crash, one of the cars was kept stationary; the other rear-ended it while traveling at 10 mph. The results of the study showed that, even in these relatively low-speed crashes, the total damage for each pair of vehicles ran between $2,995 and $9,867.

The IIHS asserts that a mismatch in bumper height can account for the high costs of these relatively minor collisions. In an article published in the IIHS Status Report newsletter, the author writes, "If bumpers don't match up, they'll bypass each other when vehicles collide, and the resulting crash energy will crumple the vehicle body." This crumpling causes more expensive damage, and the heightened costs then get passed on to consumers and insurance companies.

One of the reasons that this mismatch occurs, the IIHS maintains, is a lack of federal regulation of bumper height for SUVs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, passenger-car bumpers have been required since 1982 to provide "protection in the region 16 to 20 inches above the road surface." This federal standard, however, does not apply to SUVs, minivans or pickup trucks. This is because with these vehicles there would exist a "potential compromise to the vehicle utility in operating on loading ramps and off-road situations" if the same standard were enforced.

Source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/studies/bumper/index.html

The IIHS countered the grounds for that exception by saying that "very few pickups are used off road. In addition, bumpers aren't the limiting factor in most vehicles' approach and departure angles."

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