When people jump up and down at the very thought of animals being used in physical tests, it is not so long ago that human cadavers were used extensively by the safety industry to assess damage incurred by them clashing with motor vehicles. In fact, a lot of the in-car and even exterior alterations, to remove sharp-edged bumpers and pointed switchgear, have come about from those earlier experiments.

While the industry knows them as ATDs, we have a better understanding of them as ‘crash test dummies’. They sit passively and undemanding in a waiting room, until their specific size, weight and stature, which matches that of the 90-percentile human being, is called upon to be destruction-tested in a clinical environment. Some of them are packed with biomechanical recording equipment, by which to assess the effects of impact on a near-human form and many can be re-used.

Costing upwards of £300,000 apiece for the most advanced classification of ATD (known as ‘Thor’), they can incorporate virtually any physiological form, including obesity, from infant to adult, as well as for gathering information on heads, rib-cages, hips and limbs. Their human-like necks and dimensions reflect human flexibility but, with the customary black-and-yellow movement monitoring appliques, the entire exercise which is filmed in high-definition, is replayed in slow-motion to address requirements. 

Ford’s new Focus delivers confidence and peace-of-mind for customers in any driving scenario, using a comprehensive suite of sophisticated driver assistance technologies and engineering innovations that have arisen through extensive crash test procedures. In fact, the car was awarded the maximum 5-star safety rating by independent crash test authority, Euro NCAP, earlier this year, becoming one of the first vehicles to be awarded the highest rating under new, more stringent testing protocols.

Technologies designed to make the Focus driving experience more comfortable, less demanding and to help drivers avoid, or mitigate the effects of, accidents were commended by Euro NCAP. The company used its new €15.5m sled crash testing facility in Cologne, Germany, to carry out the tests.

The new Focus offers a wider range of driver assistance features than any Ford vehicle before, enabled by three radars, two cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors. In addition, an advanced body structure and safety cell featuring ultra-high-strength steels is designed to protect occupants in the event of an accident.

Some of the features include:

• Adaptive Cruise Control, with Stop & Go, Speed Sign Recognition and Lane-Centring for negotiating stop-start traffic
• Ford’s Adaptive Front Lighting System, with new camera-based Predictive curve light and Sign-based light that pre-adjust headlamp patterns for improved visibility in the dark, by monitoring bends in the road and road signs for the first time 
• Ford’s first Head-up display to be offered in Europe, which helps drivers keep their eyes on the road by projecting useful information into their field of vision.
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Features designed to help drivers avoid, or mitigate the effects of, accidents include:

• Ford’s Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection, which can detect people and cyclists in or near the road ahead, or who may cross the vehicle’s path, and automatically apply the brakes, if it detects a potential collision and the driver does not respond to warnings
• Evasive Steering Assist, which uses radar and camera to detect slower-moving and stationary vehicles ahead and provides steering support to enable drivers to manoeuvre around a vehicle, if a collision is imminent
• Wrong Way Alert, first available for customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which uses the windscreen mounted camera and information from the car’s navigation system to provide drivers with audible and visual warnings, when driving through two ‘No Entry’ signs on a motorway ramp
• Ford’s Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert, which warns drivers reversing out of a parking space of vehicles that may soon be crossing behind them and can apply the brakes to avoid, or mitigate the effects of collisions, if drivers do not respond to warnings.

Focus also debuts a bespoke, in-house developed Ford Stability Control system for added security on the road. Braking distances from 62 mph are reduced by up to 1.0-metre compared with the outgoing model, supported by the new Electric Brake Booster for select models that builds pressure faster.

Up to four crash tests per day can be performed at the Cologne facility, which uses an hydraulically-powered propulsion system that accelerates a vehicle body, with a propulsive force equivalent to 250 tonnes, to replicate the accelerations of up to 80 times the force of gravity that are experienced in real-world road accidents. Cameras able to record up to 1,000 frames per second allow engineers to scrutinise the timing of airbag and seat restraint devices. The latest generation of crash test dummies deliver data from 70 highly sensitive sensors in key anatomical locations, including up to 15 accelerometers in the head alone.

The head of the Ford Crash Test facility, Stephan Knack, said: “Full-scale crash tests give us a wealth of information, but take longer to set-up. Virtual crash tests are fast, but not yet as reliable as the real thing. Our new sled test bridges the gap between the real and the virtual worlds, so that we can deliver improvements faster, resulting in safer vehicles. The sled test plays a crucial role in enhancing the safety of every Ford passenger car and commercial vehicle developed in Europe.”