ALL ACCESSORIES GREAT AND SMALL

ANUMBER of smaller accessories are also subject to compliance testing. For those of us with a lessthan-modern 4x4, the thought of a compliant seat cover seems like a joke, but remember a number of modern 4x4s come standard with side airbags in the seats. Fitment of non-compliant or compatible seat covers to these seats – as in, they directly inhibit the deployment of the side airbag – is a safety concern. The seat side airbags are activated within an extremely short timeframe using a certain amount of force, so if obstructed by an overlaying material that is not made to ‘give’ when the airbags are deployed, the end result could be a more serious side-impact injury. Factors such as the fabric used, stitch length and the tension levels used to fit the covers to the seat have to be taken into consideration when manufacturing a compliant seat cover. To measure the deployment speed of the seat side airbag and ensure it is within required levels, a high-speed camera is utilised and then footage of the seat with and without the cover is compared to measure the deployment time.

Replacement aftermarket seats need to meet the requirements of ADR3,

with two tests – Static and Crash (also known as Impact) – and five subtests: Seat Anchorage, Seat Back Strength, Anchorages for Seatbelt, Child Restraint Anchorages and Head Restraint. A standard vehicle has passed all of these occupant safety-related tests and has been proven to withstand incredible forces and impacts. Therefore any seat (or other original part of the vehicle) that is replaced must be done so with a product that meets exactly the same standards.

Another oft-fitted accessory is a set of sidesteps. Again, the product seems innocuous enough, but think of the effect these may have on a side-impact collision and you realise why they are subject to compliance testing (as part of ADR 72/00). The side-impact testing on this product is designed to check “crash worthiness requirements in terms of forces and accelerations measured by anthropomorphic dummies, so as to minimise the likelihood of injury to the occupants in a side impact”, according to ASE’S testing procedure.

The potential risk of injury or death to not only you and yours but also innocent bystanders (imagine a roof rack and/or its contents hurtling forward and smashing into the rear window of the rig in front of you) is simply too high.