The tests fall into one of the following categories of test engagements:

 

Frontal/Rear-End Collision Types

 

In rear-end/frontal impacts, the vehicles will reach a common velocity during the impact.  Additional engagements are listed below:

 

1.  Direct - Bumper Contact impacts involve vehicles where contact was made between the primary bumper structures of the surfaces tested.  In cases involving vehicle-to-barrier impacts, the test vehicle's bumper will strike the face of the barrier.  The vehicles are aligned at impact and contact is between the central regions of each bumper.

 

2.  Angled/Offset Contact tests include those where the vehicles were either offset or oriented at angles to each other at impact.  The contact area is usually more localized than in direct engagement tests.

 

3.  Underride collisions are those where the bullet vehicle's bumper misses the target vehicle's bumper/test surface and the damage is concentrated to the front grille, fenders, and/or hood of the bullet.

 

4.  Override collisions occur when the bullet vehicle strikes the target above the bumper.  The areas when the target vehicle is damaged include the rear hatch/trunk/tailgate, brake lamps, or rear body panels.

 

Lateral Collisions

 

5.  Lateral collisions are collisions where the bullet strikes a side surface of the target.  The damage may be located on the fender, wheels, doors, and/or quarterpanel.  Since most vehicles are not equipped with low-speed side impact protection, the damage to the struck vehicle tends to occur at lower severities than in bumper-to-bumper collisions.

 

Sideswipe Collisions

 

6.  In sideswipe collisions, a common velocity is not reached by the vehicles during the collision.  The vehicles are often at shallow angles to each other throughout the duration of the impact.  The documentation typically consists of damage profiles and velocity/acceleration traces during the impact.

 

Other Test Engagements

 

7.  Curb impacts are tests in which the test vehicle is driven into a curb.  Accelerometer data is usually collected to determine the accelerations that are experienced by the vehicle as it's wheels and/or suspension interacts with the curb during the collision.

 

8.  The purpose of Maneuver tests is to determine a vehicle's performance envelope during acceleration, braking, and cornering.  Rolling resistance or drag is sometimes measured, as well.

 

10.  Other non-standard tests (such as tests in which individual vehicle components are dynamically tested).  Some examples are: pulling bumper covers with chains, bending a trailer hitch in tension, and pendulum testing of isolators.