1999 Dodge Ram 1500

large pickup / Extended cab pickup

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 1998-2001 models

Tested vehicle: 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Quad Cab

The Dodge Ram 1500 was introduced in the 1994 model year. Frontal airbags for both the driver and passenger became standard beginning with the 1998 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. The airbag deployed too late, and there was far too much upward steering wheel movement, which contributed to the dummy's head bottoming out the airbag and hitting the steering wheel. Floor buckling tilted the driver seat forward and toward the door. Also, the seat came loose on one of its tracks and moved rearward slightly on the left side. During rebound, the dummy moved toward the driver door, and its head hit the inside of the door below the window sill.

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates the driver's survival space wasn't maintained well.

Poor control of dummy movement allowed the head to drop below the window sill on rebound and hit the inside door panel, as indicated by smeared greasepaint (inset).

Footwell and instrument panel intrusion, in combination with the driver seat pitching forward, contributed to high forces on the dummy's left lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF0109
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 27
Left (cm) 27
Center (cm) 21
Right (cm) 21
Brake pedal (cm) 20
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 10
Right (cm) 8
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 20
Rearward (cm) 6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 9

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF0109
Head
HIC-15 991
Peak gs at hard contact 134
Neck
Tension (kN) 5.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 49
Maximum Nij 0.79
Chest maximum compression (mm) 33
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 4.5
Femur force - right (kN) 0.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 1.64
Maximum tibia index - right 0.74
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 8.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 5.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 249
Right 130

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted