The Ultimate Crash Test....

PBS just completed broadcasting a 2-part episode about crash testing in a real-world environment. They used autonomous driving, robotics, cameras and LIDAR plus hundreds of sensors to document driver response, survivability, accident causation analysis and car safety system performance. The scenario is a multiple car and semi-truck pile up. The shows are called The Ultimate Crash Test: Countdown (S52 E10) and The Ultimate Crash Test: Impact (S52 E11). One of the cars was an '03 Boxster.

The show was very interesting and set in England. Some US driver and engineer involvement.

The episodes can be found on pbs.org Seach using NOVA.

Adm, please delete if this violates a possible copyright.

The Boxster "driver" was admittedly an inexperienced driver, but she performed well. She entered a cloud of dust, broke early and scraped the right-side guard rails. Since she was still in the fast lane, she continued on by moving to the adjacent left lane. She then struck the perpendicular semi-truck into the Boxster passenger side. The impact speed was slow for her (25 mph?), the hood deformed up and the crumple zone did it's job. The rest of the car fared well from the collision.

Remember this was enacted in England and air bags were deactivated on this car, to not interfere with the robotics. The Boxster top was down.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2025 02:16PM by Tony in Whittier. (view changes)