Bumpers (automobile)
Car bumper is the
front-most or rear-most part, ostensibly designed to
allow the car to sustain an impact without damage to
the vehicle's frame or safety systems and save any
other
car parts, but it has some limit that it will
not withstand damage to high speed impacts. While
bumpers were originally constructed of heavy steel
and held clear from the bodywork, they have
degenerated into light-weight structures of
thermo-plastic or painted light metal — leaving them
susceptible to damage from even light contact.
US
legislation
In later 1980s the design of
bumpers evolved into largely hidden elements
concealed by a single thermoplastic, painted fascia,
again establishing itself as a stylistic rather than
genuinely protective element. Protection dropped
significantly and repair costs rose.
In 1973 the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the
first US bumper standards, requiring to be capable
of sustaining a 5 mile-per-hour (MPH) frontal crash
and a 2.5 MPH rear crash without damage to safety
systems. Initially,
cars were mostly equipped with unsophisticated
chunky protrusions of metal and plastic to achieve
this standard in a cost-effective manner.
Contemporary criticism considered them a stylistic
detraction, and panned the additional weight of
these bumpers on the already large 1970s American
automobile.
Under pressure from automakers,
NHTSA revised the rules in 1982, lowering the front
and rear protection standard to 2.5 MPH, and
dropping the Phase II requirement altogether. At
that time, NHTSA promised to conduct research and
testing to provide consumers with accurate
information on the quality of new car bumpers.
Consumers Union filed a 1986 petition requesting the
restoration of the Phase II standard and disclosure
of bumper strength information. In 1990, NHTSA
rejected that petition.
At the later 1990 NIHS study
conducted four crash tests on three different model
year examples of the then popular Plymouth Horizon,
with the following damage results (1990 labor rates
and parts prices):
* 1983 Horizon with
No-Damage 5 MPH bumpers $ 287
* 1983 Horizon with weaker
bumpers $ 918
* 1990 Horizon $ 1,476
In 2008, Canada announced it
would harmonize its bumper standards with US
standards, thereby allowing Canadians to more easily
import US vehicles. The Canadian standard had
required impact resistance up to 10km/hr or 6mph.
Legal issues
In many jurisdictions, bumper
is legally required on all vehicles for safety
reasons. The height and placement of bumpers may be
legally specified as well, to ensure that when
vehicles of different heights are in an accident
that the smaller vehicle will not slide under the
larger vehicle.
Smart Bumpers
Many cars now come with "smart
bumpers" that can sense the distance to nearby cars
during parking and warn of imminent collision.
