WRECK CHECK CAR SCAN CENTERS LLC

Safety Concerns Restoring Collision Damaged Vehicle: 

The goal at Wreck Check CarScan is to protect the driving public and their families from the dangers of improperly repaired automobiles through our used car and collision repair certification services. Our diagnostic clinics and experienced professionals are the leading providers of vehicle structural inspections, chassis dimensioning, repair monitoring services and vehicle condition certification. We believe the consumer has the right to know of any safety risks and of any diminished value before they purchase a car or after a traffic accident.

More than 41,000 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes each year, and crash injuries result in about 500,000 hospitalizations and four million emergency departments visits annually. The economic burden of motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries are also enormous, costing the United States more than $150 billion each year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began to evaluate its Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in 1975. By December 2004, NHTSA had evaluated the life-saving benefits as well as the consumer cost for a substantial "core" group of safety technologies for passenger cars and LTVs (light pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans). In 2002, these technologies added an estimated $11,353,000,000 (in 2002 Dollars) to the cost of new cars and (LTVs) of that model year. They saved an estimated 20,851 lives in the cars and LTVs on the road during that calendar year. That amounts to $544,482 per life saved in 2002.

Over model years 1968-2002 these technologies added a total of $189,842,000,000 to the consumer cost of new cars and LTVs. They saved 252,989 lives in model year 1968 and later vehicles during calendar years 1968-2002. That amounts to $750,782 (in 2002 Dollars) per life saved in 1968-2002.

Spending $750,782 per life saved shows how serious the Federal government takes vehicle safety. After an accident it is critical to restore all the vehicle's safety features to factory operating limits to assure the current owner, and any future owners, are afforded the same level of vehicle safety after repairs.  These safety features can be divided into two major categories; crash-worthiness and crash avoidance.

Crashworthiness: The most important devices, or elements of design, installed on or in a motor vehicle are those that reduce the risk of death or serious injury when a crash occurs. Crash-worthiness features, which are designed to prevent ejection from the vehicle, reduce the risk of fire, and minimize occupant injuries, include: seat belts, crush zones and the safety cage, airbags (including side impact protection), and windshields. Windshields (stronger and lighter than steel) are responsible for structural stiffness, ejection prevention, and proper passenger air bag operation.

A vehicle's structural design is the primary feature for protecting passengers in a serious crash, and minimizing any injury that may result. A good structural design should have a strong occupant compartment, or safety cage, and front and rear ends designed to buckle and bend in serious crashes to absorb crash forces (crush zones). It is important for these crush zones to keep damage away from the safety cage because, once this cage begins to collapse, the likelihood of injury increases rapidly. If it is effectively designed, a longer crush zone lowers both the likelihood of damage to the occupant compartment and the crash forces inside it.

Proper structural repair when restoring the front crush zone is even more critical with air bags because the stiffness and crush-ability of the structure is what tells the air bag sensors when to deploy the air bag. Car manufacturers take great care to ensure all the structural components work together. The correct flow of crash energy (the "crash pulse") through the vehicle is imperative. Automakers "tune" the pulse to exactly the right combination of deceleration time and crush distance for maximum occupant protection. Each sensor is designed to match the crash pulse of the car.

The entire crash time is less than 1/10th of a second. The air bag needs to be inflated early in the crash in order to cushion the occupant. As it deflates, it slows the occupant down over a relatively long period of time, which makes air bags so effective in reducing injuries. The other safety components are also carefully matched for each make and model.

Timing is very important because each vehicle model does have a different crash pulse. If the vehicle is damaged, it is important to restore the sensors and the structural safety elements to their original conditions. Structural repair is risky for the timing sequence. If the technician does not restore the vehicle to pre-accident crush-ability, the shape of the pulse may change. This can fool the sensor and the air bags may not deploy because too much time has passed before the deploy threshold was reached.  Too much time means the driver has already hit the steering wheel and other interior surfaces. Remember, all this happens in under 1/10th of a second.

As new vehicles get lighter and lighter it is structural engineering that protects passengers in a collision, not mass. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety spends a lot of money ($60,000 per car) crash testing new cars to pressure OEMs (original equipment manufactures) to design and build safer cars. However, there is no system used by the insurance companies to confirm that structural repairs have been completed to factory operating limits. This is why you need to know your vehicle's most important safety feature, the crush zone, was repaired properly so it will perform as it was designed to do perform in a serious crash.

Crash avoidance: These systems are the design features and elements that help prevent an accident.  These safety features include driver's visibility, electronic vision, lighting, and handling. Handling elements include: tires, wheels, brakes, suspension, steering, and structural stiffness.

Again, restoring these elements to manufacturer's operating limits assures that in an emergency situation the vehicle will handle as the manufacturer designed the vehicle to handle. Avoiding an accident is always a better alternative than having an accident, and thus knowing these mechanical systems are restored properly (to factory operating limits) is a must.
How To Utilize The Wreck Check Car Scan Value Added Services:

Accident Investigation, Used Car & Collision Repair & Structural Certification, Diminished Value Assessments, Fraud Investigations, Safety Inspections, Arbitration & Legal Disputes, Liability Protection, Pre-Repair Damage Analysis.
Who Can Utilize Wreck Check Car Scan Services: