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Fuel Tank Safety Updates

Government sets new gas tank fire standards

Investigations into deadly gas tank explosions in Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers led the government to update its standards for fire protection in rear crashes involving all vehicle models. The Crown Victoria is used as police cruisers by 80 percent of the national police departments. Rear end collisions at very high speeds have set off fatal conflagrations that killed 14 police officers since 1983.

NHTSA Study

The government opened an investigation of the fuel tank fire crashworthiness in the Crown Vics in 2002. After a 10-month study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that vehicles with the Crown Victoria fuel system involved in rear crashes caught fire 8 percent of the time compared to 6.3 percent of the time in the comparable Chevrolet Caprice. When the study was made public, NHTSA said that the Crown Victoria met current federal standards requiring a vehicle to withstand a rear crash at 30 mph without leaking fuel. The vehicle still didn't leak, the agency added, at a more strenuous 50-mph test. Almost all of the fuel leaks that turned into fatal fires occurred at crashes greater than 60 mph with some as high as 84 mph.

After the study was published, NHTSA announced in late November, 2003, new tests and standards for fuel tank crashworthiness. "Preventing fuel leaks in a crash is critical for preventing occupant death and injury from fire," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge, M.D. "Although fires are relatively rare, they often have very severe consequences. These new tests can save lives and prevent terrible injuries."

New Standards

The old standard involved a rear crash test using a flat, rigid barrier at 30 mph. The new test utilizes a lighter, deformable barrier, which mimics a typical vehicle's front end and will strike the test vehicle at a speed of 50 mph. In addition, the new test is an offset test in which the crash forces are focused on just 70 percent of the rear end. Under the current test, the entire rear end of a vehicle is struck by the test barrier. The current side impact fuel system integrity test is also being upgraded. Instead of using a flat, rigid barrier striking the test vehicle straight on from the side at 20 mph, the test will be conducted at 33.5 mph with the deformable barrier.

The new standard sets three separate limits on fuel spillage from crash-tested vehicles. Vehicles will fail if after the test 1 ounce of spillage occurs during test impact, or 5 ounces spills during the next 5-minute time period; or 1 ounce during any 1-minute interval in a 25-minute period after the first five minutes.

Vehicle fires, resulting from gas tank leaks after a crash, occur in less than 1 percent of vehicles that are towed from crashes, NHTSA said. But when they do happen they are severe. Consumer advocate groups say the standards for side impact testing are not stiff enough and should utilize the same 50-mph speed as the rear crash test.