The quality of being designed to protect occupants during a crash; the degree to which a vehicle can withstand collision forces.
From crash plus worthy (deserving, capable) with the noun suffix -ness. This is a technical term coined by automotive engineers, following the pattern of 'airworthiness' (the ability of aircraft to fly safely).
'Crashworthiness' is a term that didn't exist before the 1960s but is now central to vehicle design regulation. Engineers measure it in precise ways—crumple zones, restraint systems—but the word itself is a recent invention of safety consciousness.
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