Today, I got to witness something very few people get to witness. I got the opportunity to see the 17,269th car crash test performed by GM. It was a side impact test and it sent chills up my spine upon impact.
I was the only Lifestyle blogger invited to attend a Chevy Cruze event where myself along with other media were given a tour of the GM safety facility in Milford,MI.
The facility is HUGE! The Milford Proving Grounds consist of 115 buildings on 4,000 acres and the actual safety lab consists of 4 buildings totaling 400,000 sq.ft. (8 football fields). GM is the only North American facility that does a roll over test which peaked my interest a bit.
Back in 1992 I was in a roll over that totaled my car and left me severely bruised and slightly injured. In all reality, I am lucky to have lived through the accident, only sustaining a broken shoulder, some tissue wounds and back pain that has haunted me since the accident. During this trip home from the library with some friends, I was not wearing my seat belt and although this is what saved my life, since the guardrail of my Jeep was completely collapsed, from that point on I have not ridden in a car without my seat belt securely fastened across my body.
I was happy to see that GM felt the need to invest $10 million into building the Roll Over Facility, since 40% of fatal crashes are roll overs.
I missed being able to test drive the new Chevy Cruze because I’m a stay at home mom by day and had to get back home to tend to my little one’s and relieve my husband, so he go get back to work. Fortunately, I was able to get a first hand look at how extensive GM’s testing facility is and how dedicated they are at making sure they are building cars that are safe for the entire family.
