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.

Detroit Mommies Expert Contributor
Courtney is the traveling mom! She has 3 girls and is the founder of Detroit Mommies and currently lives in Florida. You can follow her on Twitter @courtneyRVL.