In many developed countries, governments are very serious about vehicle safety. New driver training and examination are very rigorous, with countries like Germany requiring night driving lessons and in Finland new drivers are trained in vehicle recovery from a skid (very important considering the amount of snow Finland gets) even before they hit the road. Vehicles sold in these developed markets are also required to meet a minimum standard of safety. Most European markets adopt the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) standards while United States has their FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) and Australia has ADR (Australian Design Rules).
In many developing markets like in the ASEAN region including Malaysia, the relatively lower levels of income per capita means that safety is unfortunately an expensive option. Having an affordable mode of transport is the over-riding priority in developing countries. Just look at the doorless "tuk-tuks" weaving their way through gridlock traffic of Bangkok and Mumbai. The reality is that if governments of the developing world would implement the same high levels of vehicle safety legislation, motor vehicles would be priced out of reach for many, and small-medium economic activities will be seriously hampered. This is also the reason why Tata Group believes that the Nano represents a major improvement for a family of 5 who would otherwise be riding precariously on a motorcycle, something which critics in the developed world cannot seem to understand. The relatively lower income levels and lax vehicle regulations in developing markets also mean that many of these "Third World country" cars sold here (including foreign makes) lack the same high standards of safety enjoyed by the developed world.
Honda Motor Co. however, prides itself in adhering to its philosophy of "safety for everyone." Recognizing this gap in vehicle safety regulation between developed and developing markets, Honda began developing their own standards of vehicle safety, irrespective of whether they are required by law or not.
In 1998, Honda first announced that it will be pursuing a new vehicle collision safety technology called G-Con, short for "G-Force Control." The standards incorporated into G-CON are constantly updated to benchmark against many of the world's toughest crash safety regulations as well as against data collected from real-world accidents. G-CON’s purpose is to control the impact energy (‘G-Force’) of a collision and reduce injuries to the vehicle occupants. Since then, all Honda vehicles developed from a new platform is designed with G-CON technology for optimum passive safety performance.
G-CON compliant body of a Honda City.
As of to date, the G-CON test includes:
a) 55km/h full frontal collision
b) 64km/h frontal offset collision
c) 55km/h side collision
d) 50km/h rear collision
Actually, G-CON's test scope covers a wider range than many country's legal requirements. For example, U.S. NHTSA test covers full frontal collision but does not include the offset deformable frontal barrier test. Frontal offset collisions are tougher to meet but they are a better representation of real world accidents because it mimics the driver's instinctive reaction to swerve away from an obstacle to avoid an accident. Another worthy mention is the rear collision test, which are not a mandatory requirement by any major automotive market. EuroNCAP have also yet to incorporate rear collision though they are plans to do so in the future. EuroNCAP however covers side pole impact test and collisions with infant occupants.
Honda's G-CON technology has come a long way since its inception in 1998. In the early days of G-CON, most crash tests are done in a controlled laboratory environment, against static objects and thus many variables that affect a vehicle's real-world crash performance are not evaluated. One of the main problems with real world collisions is the huge disparity between weight, dimensions and body types of different vehicles on the road. When vehicles of different weight and size collide, the vehicle's passive safety features may not work as intended. Differences in vehicle designs may cause the colliding vehicles to either under-ride or over-ride, limiting the vehicle's frames to properly absorb / disperse impact energy. This is particularly serious in a collision between a small hatchback and a large sedan / SUV. Even on a collision between two exactly same vehicle models, the differences in their ride height due to the number of occupants on board / vehicle's actual weight is sufficient to cause the two vehicle's crash members to be out of alignment with each other, causing under-riding / over-riding.
Under-riding and over-riding is a serious problem when cars of different body type and weight collide, something which has not been taken into account in many of today’s laboratory testing.
Recognizing this, Honda built the world's first indoor car-to-car omni-directional crash test facility in its Tochigi R&D Center in year 2000. Honda Motor Co. invested 6.8 billion yen to build this 41,000 square meters facility to allow Honda to simulate collisions between multiple vehicles of any body type, from any direction, at almost any speed. With results from tests done from this facility, Honda was able to further build on its G-CON technology to incorporate Advance Compatibility Engineering (ACE), Honda's term for crash compatibility body.
To better replicate real world accidents, vehicles of different sizes and body types can be collided from various speeds and any directions (at 15 degrees increment).
The 2003 JDM Honda Life is the first Honda model to be developed with ACE to incorporate a crash compatibility body. With ACE, a small kei car Honda Life is able to withstand collision against a 2-ton Honda Legend (Acura RL) sedan. All new Honda models developed from a new platform since then are equipped with crash compatibility body.
Since then, G-CON has been further developed to also include pedestrian safety.
All Honda cars, irrespective of where they are manufactured or sold, comply with Honda’s stringent G-CON standards, which as we have seen earlier, rival many of the world’s toughest crash safety standards.
It should be noted that G-CON technology only focuses on passive safety aspects (post-collision). In an overall vehicle safety philosophy, active safety (pre-collision) components are more important than passive safety. In simple terms, G-CON’s role is limited to minimizing injuries, rather than helping to avoid a nasty accident in the first place.
While Honda tries its best to be a responsible corporate entity, it can’t do much about the idiot behind the wheel. No vehicle safety feature, no matter how advance, can compensate for someone who does not bother to check his tire thread pattern or fails to slow down sufficiently before entering a sharp corner.
For more information, visit your nearest Honda showroom or go to www.honda.com.my/.
To learn more about other automotive technology from Honda, you may drop by at the Honda Advanced Technology Roadshow happening between 26-June to 9-August. For more details visit www.honda.com.my/advancedtechnology.
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