Crash Test Comparison: 40 mph vs. 56 mph | How Speed Affects the Severity of Crashes

Hi guys! New AAA and IIHS crash tests reveal that modest speed increases can have deadly consequences. Small speed increases can have huge effects on crash outcomes, as shown in new crash tests by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Humanetics. The safety organizations conducted crashes at three different impact speeds (40, 50 and 56 mph). They found the slightly higher speeds were enough to increase the driver’s risk of severe injury or death. The AAA Foundation collaborated with IIHS and Humanetics to examine how speed affects the likelihood and severity of occupant injury in a crash. Three 2010 Honda CR-V EX crossovers were used because they represented the average age (11.8 years) of a typical vehicle on U.S. roadways and earned the top rating in the IIHS moderate overlap front test. As the crash speed increased in the tests, researchers found more structural damage and greater forces on the dummy’s entire body. “Higher speed limits cancel out t