A Swedish car manufacturer has brought a whole new level to the crash test experience by dropping their vehicles 100ft from a crane.

The stunt was performed by Volvo to demonstrate the extreme forces which could take place in a high-speed crash and to help emergency services better understand the skills required in road traffic collision scenarios.

By winching the company’s SUVs up into the air and letting them go, the impact is much greater than any which may be attempted in an indoor crash-test site.

“We have been working closely together with the Swedish rescue services for many years,' says Håkan Gustafson, a senior investigator with the Volvo Cars Traffic Accident Research Team.

“That is because we have the same goal: to have safer roads for all. We hope no one ever needs to experience the most severe accidents, but not all accidents can be avoided. So it is vital there are methods to help save lives when the most severe accidents do happen.”

In the UK it usually left to the fire service to cut people free from wreckage in a car accident, though the rescue workers have no real world training opportunities and usually practice in a scrap yard. But Volvo’s research and findings will be published so that emergency services around the world can benefit.

“Normally we only crash cars in the laboratory, but this was the first time we dropped them from a crane,” added Gustafson.

“We knew we would see extreme deformations after the test, and we did this to give the rescue team a real challenge to work with.”

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