What is a crumple zone?

A crumple zone is a part of a car's metal structure that's designed to crush and give way in an accident, absorbing energy from the crash before it makes it to the car's occupants. Crumple zones are designed to dissipate crash energy away from the occupants, and you'll find them at the front and back of cars. You can think of a crumple zone as being like foam packaging around a bottle of wine you receive in the post – it's there to soften the shock and increase the amount of time it takes the contents to change direction in a crash.