Designed or built so as to minimize injury to occupants in case of a crash or collision.
From crash plus worthy (fit, capable), following the productive pattern of compound adjectives and the term 'airworthy' from aviation. This technical term emerged in automotive safety discourse in the mid-20th century.
When engineers called a car 'crashworthy,' they made a conceptual leap: instead of trying to prevent crashes, design for survival within them. Now cars are specifically engineered to crumple in particular ways to absorb impact.
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