Holden: 70 cars cut and crushed for road rescue training challenge

Supported by Holden for 15 years, the Capital Rescue Challenge 2013 saw 70 Holden vehicles, previously used for engineering evaluation purposes donated to help teams of road rescue workers from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong work on their emergency response skills.

The donated cars included late-model versions of the Commodore, Cruze, Captiva and Barina Spark.

Teams faced three simulated car crash emergency situations across the four-day event and were judged on command of the incident, technical ability and patient care.

Three days were set aside for competition runs, with the final day dedicated to a learning symposium where rescuers are taught the latest in medical care, car construction, and were provided information on new technologies such as electric cars.

Holden’s engineering group manager for body structures and accessories, Mark Hickson, was on hand to highlight the structure and metals in the new Holden VF Commodore while the company’s design release engineer, Steven Su, presented on the plug-in Volt.

ARRO executive officer Paul Jerome said Holden’s involvement in the event was a vital component to its success.

“Holden’s support of this program gives our road rescue teams the valuable opportunity to get real hands on experience using new vehicles with the latest automotive technology.

“The end result means the teams are better equipped with outstanding skills and techniques, which can make the difference at a real life accident scene.”