As part of the conference training, Crash Testing is one of the foundations of our conferences. Conference Crash Testing typically includes anywhere from 2 to 7 tests, with the norm being 3-5. Unfortunately, in 2018 due to a last minute cancellation of the facility, no testing was able to be performed that year.
And then…. there was 2020, i.e. – COVID, which in the end caused the entire conference to be cancelled.
I mention this because for every rule there is at least one exception. We do our best to make sure there is some crash testing at the conference but some times …. things happen. We deal with it and move on, making sure that to the best of our ability no one is shorted in the area of training.
However, with that said, we typically have anywhere from 2 to 7 tests, with the norm being 3-5.
Most of the Crash Testing is for standard vehicle accidents such as Car to Car, Car to Trailer, Under ride, Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Motorcycle.
The frame grab to the left is from Crash Test 5 at the 2012 conference.
And then … AND THEN …. sometimes …. we get the opportunity to do the odd and bizarre test, such as this frame grab from ABCNews4 coverage of the 2019 testing. For more of their coverage, click on the photo to see their video (until they take it down) and their write up on the testing.
In part this test was done “Just because we could” … however … there wqas also an educational purpose to this test. Previous to this test we ran a similar test where the car made it to the ground. In this test we knew the height and distance, and were able to show that the formulas and calculations predicted the correct impact speed … whether the vehicle hit the ground or hit something above ground first. If you get your measurements correct …. your calculations come out with the correct speeds.