Fortunately road traffic accidents are not common, but when they do occur, they can be horrific for everyone involved. The team of experts at MIM understand this, after working with some of the major car manufacturers on all aspects of safety in their earlier careers before setting up MIM. They saw over and over again how customers compromised their safety by transporting large, unsuitable items in vehicles, which could break up, becoming lethal missiles or remain a solid, in-car mass, causing dreadful, life-threatening injuries, in the event of an accident.
Dog crates were one such problem, and one which the founders of MIMsafe set out to rectify. Dog crates built by other brands are either:
- Flimsy, easily smashed structures that merely held the dog in one place while travelling but provided no protection whatsoever in the event of an accident. They would fall apart, often leaving exposed bits of metal or other material that would cause injuries and leaving dogs free to escape during an accident, often to run into oncoming traffic.
- Solid, strong boxes that can withstand an impact, but have no flexibility. This means that they do not absorb any of the energy of an impact and work against, rather than with, the vehicle’s crumple zone, often causing serious or life-threatening injuries to back seat passengers.
They therefore set out to make something safe not only for dogs, but also for passengers. The Variocage will compress in a controlled manner in the event of an accident, absorbing some of the impact of the collision and working with, rather than against, the vehicle’s crumple zone. The back of the crate that is secured against the back seat of the car, is angled away from back seat passengers, protecting heads and necks from hitting the crate during an impact, and the crate will not fracture or fall apart.
They also observed that other dog crate manufacturers do not invest the considerable expense required in performing actual, real-life crash testing. All other dog crate manufacturers of whom we are aware, only “crash test” using computer simulation and mathematical models.
At MIMsafe, our scientists understand that computer simulated models are not always reliable or valid and utilise their experience of working alongside car brands. We therefore invest in an additional, much more reliable and valid crash testing strategy of positioning the crates in situ in the vehicle. This enables us to see not only how the crate will actually perform during an impact, but also how it performs in conjunction with the existing safety features of the vehicle, ensuring that the crates complement, but never impede, the inbuilt safety mechanisms.
We really are the experts in animal and human transport safety. …Read more about our crash testing.
