Browse Topic: Crash statistics

Items (162)

Aspects to consider while defining acceptance criteria and validation target

2022-01-007203/29/2022

Two major steps involved in SOTIF analysis are defining acceptance criteria and estimating the validation target. While acceptance criteria aids in determining if we have an acceptable residual risk corresponding to a hazardous behavior, the validation target specifies the amount of testing effort (in hours or representative miles) that is needed to ensure that the acceptance criteria are met. The existing approaches for defining acceptance criteria heavily rely on existing fatality databases or naturalistic driving study data sets. The criterion is selected based on average number of fatalities or crashes per mile or per an hour of operation. The validation target is calculated based on these acceptance criteria. However, are these values really reflecting the acceptable risk criteria and targets? According to statistics, for a given data set and a random sample derived from the dataset, only the mean of population of the data set and the sample can considered to be equal. In the case

Madala, Kaushik, Krishnamoorthy, Jayalekshmi, Avalos Gonzalez, Carlos, SHIVKUMAR, Abhishek, Solmaz, Mert

Accident Statistical Distributions from NASS CDS - An Update

2020-01-051804/14/2020

The National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) contains an abundance of field accident data. As technology advances and the database continues to grow over the years, the statistical significance of the data increases and trends can be observed. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date, reference resource with respect to commonly sought-after accident statistics. Charts include up-to-date accident distributions by Delta-V and impact direction with corresponding injury severity rates. Rollover data is also analyzed, as well as historical trends for injury severity, belt usage, air bag availability, and vehicle safety technology availablility.

Yaek, Jennifer L., Brown, Thomas, Goertz, Alan

NASA crash landing is a complete success

SAE-MA-0354906/24/2019

The test was conducted to better understand the dynamic forces on an aircraft and its passengers during a crash landing. Findings form the event will support a new FAA performance-based rule that will simplify aircraft certification by eliminating or minimizing the use of special conditions.

Kucinski, William

Computational and Experimental Analysis of Head Injury Criteria (HIC) in Frontal Collision of Car with Pedestrian

2019-26-001601/09/2019

Road accident between pedestrian and motor vehicle causes severe injuries and even death of pedestrian. The accident statistics show that the possibility of injury to pedestrian is higher in case of collision with car on busy roads. In car and pedestrian collisions, the pedestrian’s head hits with car bonnet and suffer from multiple injuries such as skull fractures and brain injury. The role of car bonnet structural strength plays an important role in pedestrian head injury level. To provide enough structural strength the high bonnet thickness is provided with under bonnet stiffeners, however thick bonnet and stiffeners reduces deformation of the bonnet during collision and increases injury level to pedestrian. Hence optimum bonnet thickness, least number and geometry of stiffeners and enough structural strength is important for bonnet to reduce injury level. The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of car bonnet thickness, number and arrangement of under bonnet stiffeners on

Thombare, Dr. Dhananjay G

Method to Optimize Key Parameters and Effectiveness Evaluation of the AEB System Based on Rear-End Collision Accidents

2017-01-011203/28/2017

Rear-end accident is one of the most important collision modes in China, which often leads to severe accident consequences due to the high collision velocity. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system could perform emergency brake automatically in dangerous situation and mitigate the consequence. This study focused on the analysis of the rear-end accidents in China in order to discuss about the parameters of Time–to-Collision (TTC) and the comprehensive evaluation of typical AEB. A sample of 84 accidents was in-depth investigated and reconstructed, providing a comprehensive set of data describing the pre-crash matrix. Each accident in this sample is modeled numerically by the simulation tool PC-Crash. In parallel, a model representing the function of an AEB system has been established. This AEB system applies partial braking when the TTC ≤ TTC1 and full braking when the TTC ≤ TTC2. Lastly, the AEB system’s model is coupled to the kinematic of the vehicle in simulation for virtual

Zhao, Mingming, Wang, Hongyan, Chen, Junyi, Xu, Xiao, He, Yutong

Analysis of Non-Police Reported Accidents on Indian Highways

2017-26-000501/10/2017

The official Indian accident statistics show that the number of road accidents and fatalities are one of the highest worldwide. These official statistics provide important facts about the current accident situation. It is suspected that for various reasons not all accidents are reported to the official statistic. This study estimates the degree of underreporting of traffic accidents with casualties in India. In order to get a national overview of the traffic accident situation it is necessary to improve the knowledge about underreported accidents. Therefore, the in-depth accident database of “Road Accident Sampling System India” (RASSI) was analyzed [1]. This project is organized by a consortium that has collected traffic accidents scientifically in four different regions since 2011 on the spot which have been reported either by police or by local hospitals and own patrol by RASSI engineers. Thus, the level of underreporting is researched by comparing data from hospital records and

Joerg, Moennich, Kumaresh, Girikumar, Lich, Thomas, Georgi, Andreas

A Methodology for Collision Prediction and Alert Generation in Airport Environment

2016-01-197609/20/2016

Aviation safety is one of the key focus areas of the aerospace industry as it involves safety of passengers, crew, assets etc. Due to advancements in technology, aviation safety has reached to safest levels compared to last few decades. In spite of declining trends in in-air accident rate, ground accidents are increasing due to ever increasing air traffic and human factors in the airport. Majority of the accidents occur during initial and final phases of the flight. Rapid increase in air traffic would pose challenge in ensuring safety and best utilization of Airports, Airspace and assets. In current scenario multiple systems like Runway Debris Monitoring System, Runway Incursion Detection System, Obstacle avoidance system and Traffic Collision Avoidance System are used for collision prediction and alerting in airport environment. However these approaches are standalone in nature and have limitations in coverage, performance and are dependent on onboard equipment. There is a need to

Thupakula, Kiran, Sivaramasastry, Adishesha, Gampa, Srikanth

The New Approach of In-Depth-Accident-Investigation based on the Methodology for Traffic Accident Database on Scenarios TADS

2016-01-147204/05/2016

Estimating the potential benefit of advanced safety systems by simulation has become increasingly important during the last years. All over the world OEMs and suppliers carry out benefit estimations by simulations via computer models. Such simulations should, of course, be based on real world scenario such as the pre-crash phase of real world accidents. Several methodologies for building up accident scenarios have been developed in the past. This paper shows a new method for generating pre-crash scenarios directly from the reconstruction of the accident by using the software PC-Crash1. The new method was developed by the Medical University Hannover (MHH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation Dresden (Fraunhofer IVI). It is based on transferring all information (participant-, vehicle-, environment- and motion-data) from the reconstruction file into a scenario-database. In order to analyse the pre-crash situation of real-world accidents and changing boundary conditions (e.g

Otte, Dietmar, Urban, Martin, Johannsen, Heiko

Research on Method for Classifying Injury Severity Using Motorcycle Accident Data for ISO 26262

2015-32-071411/17/2015

ISO 26262 was established in 2011 as a functional safety standard for passenger cars. In this standard, ASILs (Automotive Safety Integrity Levels) representing safety levels for passenger cars are determined by evaluating the hazardous events associated with each item constituting an electrical and/or electronic safety-related system according to three evaluation criteria including injury severity. On the other hand, motorcycles will be included in the scope of application of ISO 26262 in the next revision. It is expected that a severity evaluation for motorcycles will be needed because motorcycles are clearly different from passenger cars in vehicle mass and structure. Therefore, this study focused on severity class evaluation for motorcycles. A method of classifying injury severity according to vehicle speed was developed on the basis of accident data. In addition, a severity table for motorcycles classifying injury severity according to vehicle speed for each accident type was

Arai, Yuji, Hasegawa, Makoto, Harigae, Takeshi

Motorcycle Stability Control - The Next Generation of Motorcycle Safety and Riding Dynamics

2015-32-083411/17/2015

Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) for motorcycles have already contributed significantly to the safety of powered two-wheelers (PTW) on public roads by improving bike stability and controllability in emergency braking situations. In order to address further riding situations, another step forward has been achieved with Motorcycle Stability Control (MSC) system. By combining ABS, electronically combined braking system (eCBS), traction control and inertial sensors even in situations like braking and accelerating in corners the riders' safety can be improved. The MSC system controls the distribution of braking and traction forces using an algorithm that takes into account all available vehicle information from wheels, power train and vehicle attitude. With its ability to control fundamental vehicle dynamics, the MSC system will be a basis for further development and integration of comprehensive safety systems. The contribution of ABS towards motorcycle safety has been confirmed by numerous

Lich, Thomas, Block, Wilko Gordon, Prashanth, S N, Heiler, Brad

Typical Pedestrian Accident Scenarios in China and Crash Severity Mitigation by Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems

2015-01-146404/14/2015

In China, nearly 25% of traffic fatalities are pedestrians. To avoid those fatalities in the future, rapid development of countermeasures within both passive and active safety is under way, one of which is autonomous braking to avoid pedestrian crashes. The objective of this work was to describe typical accident scenarios for pedestrian accidents in China. In-depth accident analysis was conducted to support development of test procedures for assessing Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems. Beyond that, this study also aims for estimating the mitigation of potential crash severity by AEB systems. The China In-depth Accident Study (CIDAS) database was searched from 2011 to 2014 for pedestrian accidents. A total of 358 pedestrian accidents were collected from the on-site in-depth investigation in the first phase of CIDAS project (2011-2014). The number of car/SUV/VAN/microbus to pedestrian (all called hereafter referred to as car-to-pedestrian accidents in this study) cases is n=265

Chen, Qiang, Lin, Miao, Dai, Bing, Chen, Jiguang

Cycling Characteristics of Bicycles at an Intersection

2015-01-146504/14/2015

Although traffic accidents in Japan involving bicycles have been decreasing yearly, more than 120,000 per year still occur. Few data exist regarding the mechanisms underlying bicycle accidents occurring at intersections. Such dangerous situations form the backdrop of the warning and automatic braking systems being developed for motor vehicles. By clarifying cyclist behavioral characteristics at crucial times, it may be possible to introduce a similar warning system for cyclists as a countermeasure to reduce accidents. The objective of this study is to clarify the mechanism of accidents involving bicycles and to obtain useful data for the development of a warning system for cyclists. A video camera and software investigated and analyzed cyclists' speed and trajectory at an intersection where many accidents occur. Cyclists entering the intersection from one direction were recorded. The results showed that the intersection offered poor visibility to cyclists, many of whom maintained their

Nikaido, Sho, Wada, Shota, Matsui, Yasuhiro, Oikawa, Shoko, Hirose, Toshiya

Accident Characteristics and Influence Parameters of Severe Motorcycle Accidents in Germany

2015-01-146604/14/2015

The overall number of severely injured participants and fatalities in road traffic accidents has decreased enormously during the last decades especially in Europe, but casualties in the group of riders of motorcycles have only decreased in a smaller percentage. In countries of Asia the numbers of motorcycle casualties are increasing regarding the popularity of motorcycle riding. The aim of this study is to analyze the current accident situation of motorcycles in Germany with severely injured and killed riders of motorcycles with cubic capacity > 125 cm3 in Germany, to identify the characteristics in injury mechanisms and accident constellations to find countermeasures to be suggested for worldwide accident avoidance and injury reduction. The study was carried out on the basis of accident data of 1,493 drivers of motorcycles involved in traffic accidents in Germany. These accidents were collected by a scientific research team of GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study) in the area of

Otte, Dietmar, Facius, Thorsten, Wiese, Birgit

Driver Perceived Threat and Behavior in Rear End Collision Avoidance Situations

2015-01-141404/14/2015

The focus of this paper is the threat assessment of perceived threat by drivers in collision avoidance situations. The understanding of the decision making process with regards to the initiation of a driver intervention is a crucial step to gain insight into driver's steering and braking behavior in case of an imminent threat (rear-end collision). Hence a study with various test subjects and a test vehicle has been conducted. The study has helped to understand how drivers behave in potential rear-end collision situations arising from the traffic situation (e.g. start of a traffic jam). This information is of major importance for designing autonomous collision avoidance systems and an important step towards autonomous driving. Autonomous driving in vehicles require system interventions to be initiated as early and safely as possible in order to avoid the collision and to avoid unstable vehicle dynamics situations. In parallel, collision avoidance maneuvers need to be balanced between

Shah, Jitendra, Benmimoun, Mohamed

New Trial Analysis of Characteristics of Accidents and Traffic Violations by Elderly Drivers in Japan

2014-01-912705/09/2014

The number of elderly drivers is increasing in Japan and ensuring the safety of elderly drivers is becoming an important issue. The authors previously conducted an analysis of the characteristics of accidents and traffic violations by elderly drivers based on the number of accidents in which they were rear-ended. This method was used in order to exclude the influence of driving frequency. As a result of that analysis, it was found that the likelihood of violations committed by elderly drivers was not particularly higher than in other age groups, while the likelihood of accidents caused by them was higher. The risk of causing an accident was judged to be about two times higher in elderly drivers than in the 35-44 year age group. However, the methodology presupposed that collisions in which a driver is rear-ended are accidents that occur randomly, and that they occur with the same probability in each age group. To verify the results of that study, we attempted a new analytical method

Morita, Kazumoto, Sekine, Michiaki

An Assessment of the Effects of Passenger Vehicle Weight and Size on Accident and Fatality Risk Based on Data for 1991 through 2007 Model Year Vehicles

2013-01-075704/08/2013

Quantifying the independent effects of vehicle weight and size on overall vehicle safety is necessary in order to assess the risks and benefits of vehicle weight reduction. This paper describes the results of one-stage and two-stage logistic regression analyses of the effects of passenger vehicle weight, wheelbase, track, and footprint on fatalities per accident, accidents per exposure (e.g., vehicle-miles-traveled), and fatalities per exposure using national and multi-state traffic accident and exposure databases. The analyses were accomplished in two phases. The first phase used 1995 though 2000 calendar year data for 1991 through 1999 model year vehicles. The second phase used 2002 through 2008 calendar year data for 2000 through 2007 model year vehicles. The overall fatalities per exposure results tend to confirm the one-stage results previously reported by NHTSA, however the new two-stage results provide additional insight into the independent effects of weight reduction and size

Van Auken, R. Michael, Zellner, John W.

An Assessment of the Effects of Passenger Vehicle Weight and Size on Accident and Fatality Risk Based on Data for 1991 through 2007 Model Year Vehicles

2013-01-0757-TEST-REC04/08/2013

Van Auken, R. Michael, Zellner, John W.

Representativeness and Weighting Methods of Real Time Accident Data in India

2013-26-002201/09/2013

The 2011 Report of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India states that the total accidents with injuries is estimated about 497, 686 out of which the injuries are 511, 394 and fatalities are 142, 485, an average of one fatality per 3.5 [1]. Social losses on account of these crashes are estimated at over Rupees 100 000 Crores annually or 3% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [2]. The irony is that these causalities are rising at 5.9 % annually. India accounts for 10% of the global road crash fatalities. Therefore traffic safety became very important in India. In order to understand the root causes of accidents data is needed in more detail which could be analyzed and points out the major issues to find solutions to stop this trend. Besides vehicle safety, infrastructure related issues and education skills can be derived out of accident data. Official statistics regarding accidents in India are available in national and state wise reports. More detailed information

Kumaresh, Girikumar, Lich, Thomas, Moennich, Jorg, Georgi, Andreas

Performance of Collision Damage Mitigation Braking Systems and their Effects on Human Injury in the Event of Car-to-Pedestrian Accidents

2011-22-001711/07/2011

The number of traffic deaths in Japan was 4,863 in 2010. Pedestrians account for the highest number (1,714, 35%), and vehicle occupants the second highest (1,602, 33%). Pedestrian protection is a key countermeasure to reduce casualties in traffic accidents. A striking vehicle's impact velocity could be considered a parameter influencing the severity of injury and possibility of death in pedestrian crashes. A collision damage mitigation braking system (CDMBS) using a sensor to detect pedestrians could be effective for reducing the vehicle/pedestrian impact velocity. Currently in Japan, cars equipped with the CDMBS also have vision sensors such as a stereo camera for pedestrian detection. However, the ability of vision sensors in production cars to properly detect pedestrians has not yet been established. The effect of reducing impact velocity on the pedestrian injury risk has also not been determined. The first objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the CDMBS in

Matsui, Yasuhiro, Han, Yong, Mizuno, Koji

Modeling of Pedestrian Behavior in Crossing Urban Road for Risk Prediction Driving Assistance System

2011-28-008510/06/2011

In Japan, the number of occupant fatalities has decreased at high ratio due to the development of passive and active safety technology in recent years. However, the pedestrian fatality is still the major proportion of fatalities according to the statistics of traffic accident. Therefore, it is important to study and develop active safety technologies which target to pedestrian. By analyzing the traffic accident statistics, narrow road in urban area is one of the dangerous parts for pedestrian. And the dangerous case that pedestrian often gets into an accident is while crossing road outside of crosswalk. This study focuses on accidents which are caused by pedestrians suddenly crossing narrow urban roads. In such cases, drivers need to drive carefully, preparing for sudden crossing or unexpected dangerous behavior of pedestrians. Therefore, it is important for drivers to predict the accident risk due to the crossing pedestrian behavior in such narrow roads. The final goal of this study

Aoyagi, Soichiro, Hayashi, Ryuzo, Nagai, Masao

Analysis of Fuel Cell Vehicles Equipped with Compressed Hydrogen Storage Systems from a Road Accident Safety Perspective

2011-01-054504/12/2011

The potential impact of real world accident scenarios on fuel cell vehicles equipped with a compressed hydrogen storage system is analyzed from a component point of view. Even though hydrogen compressed gas tanks can sustain very high loads, in this study a simplification is made. It is investigated to what extent different real world accident scenarios with conventional vehicles have caused deformation of the vehicle in the area where a hydrogen tank would have been integrated in a fuel cell vehicle. The study is based on accident data from the GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study) database. Deformation matrices for each passenger car in the database are defined over a deformation grid largely independent of vehicle type and shape. The matrices are combined to statistically analyze the occurrence of deformations in selected regions of a vehicle. The concept of cumulative frequencies is extended to two dimensional deformation matrices defined over a set of accident cases and a new

Bakker, Joerg, Sachs, Christian, Otte, Dietmar, Justen, Rainer, Hannawald, Lars, Friesen, Flavio

Incidence of Frontal Impact Accidents and Crash Testing of Cars Equipped with Collision Imminent Braking Systems

2011-01-109904/12/2011

The number of vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking systems is rising. Today most high-end auto makers offer pre-crash systems with a sensor-based collision warning feature. These systems warn the driver both audibly and visually when their sensors detect an imminent crash. Depending on system range, the occupants are moved into an optimized position, seat belts are pretensioned and the brakes are prepared for faster or, if necessary, maximum deceleration. A key feature of these systems is their ability to provide autonomous partial to full emergency braking in critical situations, thereby reducing collision speeds. Until now, crash tests have failed to mirror accident situations in which vehicles are braked prior to impact. Thus, it has not been possible to test the effectiveness of pre-crash occupant positioning or to reproducibly analyze the benefits of occupant preconditioning by pre-crash systems. This paper will give a statistical overview of the incidence of frontal

Egelhaaf, Markus, Rücker, Peter

Threshold Time-to-fire Determination for SRS to Control Occupant Injuries in Real World Accidents

2011-26-009401/19/2011

Supplementary Restraints Systems (SRS) are provided in automobiles for occupant protection in severe accidents. Real world accidents are a varied mix of types and severities; thereby a need exists to engineer such systems for adequate performance robustness. Statistical data suggests high serious to fatal occupant injuries due to inadvertent SRS deployments, or sub-optimal Time-to-Fires (TTF) which lead to bag induced injuries. This paper explains the work done on a project to establish requirements of SRS deployments in different load cases of low, medium and high severity. LSDyna and MADYMO CAE applications have been used for this work and final validation through physical tests. The study considers different real world accident types and involves analysis of occupant-restraints system interactions. It includes variations in occupant types and seat belt configurations. Injury values, occupant displacements and its proximity to airbags were the main criteria to arrive at deployment

Khare, Pratyush, Kudale, Shailesh M., Prasad, A. P. Krishna

Evaluation of Anti-Whiplash Seat Robustness for Multi-Peak Crash Pulses in Low-Speed Rear-End Crashes

2009-01-120204/20/2009

The mechanism of whiplash is not well understood and thus preventing a certain motion or force in an occupant might not mitigate this injury. However, a number of injury criteria have been proposed to evaluate the neck injury risk in a rear-end crash. In the safety design of the seat and the headrest assembly, robustness or invariability of whiplash protection must be secured not only under the assessment pulses applied in sled tests but also under such pulses that show random multiple peaks in real-world car-to-car rear-end crashes. The aim of this study is to investigate a method of evaluating the invariability of whiplash protection performance in low-speed rear-end crashes, not with multiple injury criteria but with a single newly proposed objective function. The function was determined based on the hypothesis that the ideal seat is rigid in terms of such invariability. A series of finite element simulations were performed based on the design of experiments to obtain car-to-car

Murakami, Daisuke, Chinmoy, Pal, Asano, Hirofumi

Rollover Testing on an Actual Highway

2009-01-154404/20/2009

Three full-size sedans were towed to highway speeds along a section of a remote rural highway. Upon release, an automated steering controller steered the vehicles through a series of maneuvers intended to result in rollover. Repeated attempts to roll each vehicle were made until rollover resulted. Non-rollover attempts produced cornering tire marks by the out-of-control vehicle. Out of numerous runs, 3 rollover and 2 non-rollover tests were selected for documentation and analysis. One additional steer-induced rollover test is presented that was conducted along a simulated road section at a closed test-track facility. All six tests presented are instrumented real-world type tests that were later reconstructed based upon the data obtained from on-board instrumentation, videotape, survey measurements, and still photographs obtained of each respective test. The test data presented within the paper includes the various phases associated with vehicle rollovers: loss-of-control, trip, and

Asay, Alan F., Woolley, Ronald L.

Accident Data Collection Methodology for Building a Traffic Accident Database for Tamil Nadu (India)

2009-26-000801/21/2009

India is facing the challenge of reducing road accident fatalities, which claim close to 100,000 lives every year. Road infrastructure is slowly improving, but the number of vehicles on the road is rising fast and so is the number of road accidents, which continue to increase year after year. The data collected by law enforcement agencies is not detailed enough to identify causes and develop solutions. Traffic accidents need to be investigated in detail to include specifics concerning crash location, vehicle damage and injuries sustained by road users. The development of such a detailed database requires the co-operation of a number of government and private organizations associated with road traffic collisions. The foundation for data collection activities is a road traffic accident notification network that enables access to accident details, crashed vehicles, and injury reports in a timely manner. This paper describes the methodology for developing a road traffic accident database

Padmanaban, Jeya, Hassan, Ahamedali M., Rajaraman, Ravishankar, Rehan, Mohammad

A Study of a Method for Predicting the Risk of Crossing-Collisions at Intersection

2008-01-052404/14/2008

The probability or risk of traffic accidents must be estimated quantitatively in order to implement effective traffic safety measures. In this study, various statistical data and probability theory were used to examine a method for predicting the risk of crossing-collisions, representing a typical type of accident at intersections in Japan. Crossing-collisions are caused by a variety of factors, including the road geometry and traffic environment at intersections and the awareness and intentions of the drivers of the striking and struck vehicles. Bayes' theorem was applied to find the accident probability of each factor separately. Specifically, the probability of various factors being present at the time of a crossing-collision was estimated on the basis of traffic accident data and observation survey data. Accident probabilities were then estimated and compared for different types of intersections, driving patterns of striking vehicles and types of struck vehicles (automobile

Hiramatsu, Machiko, Hagino, Mitsuaki, Inoue, Hideaki

The Application of Optimization Techniques to Design a Foam Pad to Reduce Lower-Extremity Injuries

2008-01-052304/14/2008

The present study had two aims: (1) to develop a model which reproduced the dummy lower leg kinematics observed in a high-speed test, and (2) to develop a methodology to assess various theoretical design parameters of a heel foam pad to reduce the risk of the lower extremity injuries. To address the first aim, a MADYMO sled simulation model was developed. The interior parts were represented mainly with finite element (FE) models, with intent to capture deformations and the reaction force directions. Moreover, the occupant responses were estimated from the refined version of the dummy model (i.e., the Hybrid III model; Q dummy model). The model was acceptably correlated to experiments. To address the second aim, the model was simplified for subsequent optimization of the heel foam pad. A genetic algorithm (GA) was used to optimize design parameters of the heel foam pad to reduce the tibia axial loads in the high-speed test (i.e., 64 km/h offset deformable barrier without dashboard

Miyahara, Ryohei, Miyajima, Yoichi, Ogawa, Shigeru

Effects of Different Vehicle Parameters on Car to Car Frontal Crash Fatality Risk Estimated through a Parameterized Model

2006-01-113404/03/2006

For the purposes of analyzing and understanding the general effects of a set of different vehicle attributes on overall crash outcome a fleet model is used. It represents the impact response, in a one-dimensional sense, of two vehicle frontal crashes, across the frontal crash velocity spectrum. The parameters studied are vehicle mass, stiffness, intrusion, pulse shape and seatbelt usage. The vehicle impact response parameters are obtained from the NCAP tests. The fatality risk characterization, as a function of the seatbelt use and vehicle velocity, is obtained from the NASS database. The fatality risk is further mapped into average acceleration to allow for evaluation of the different vehicle impact response parameters. The results indicate that the effects of all the parameters are interconnected and none of them is independent. For example, the effect of vehicle mass on fatality risk depends on seatbelt use, vehicle stiffness, available crush, intrusion and pulse shape. As a result

Nusholtz, Guy S., Xue, Jianqing, Shi, Yibing, Famili, Fariba, Xu, Lan, Rabbiolo, Guglielmo

Development of a Prototype Safety Analysis System to Assess and Forecast Vehicle Safety

2006-01-071804/03/2006

A prototype safety analysis system has been developed to assess and forecast vehicle safety that can assist vehicle developers integrate various safety technologies into future production vehicles. The prototype system can be used to assess the actual safety in existing vehicles based on fatal accident and vehicle registration data (e.g., US FARS and Polk data); and to estimate the safety in future vehicles based on the estimated effectiveness of candidate passive and active safety technologies (e.g., Curtain Airbags, CMBS) using a systems model with a representative sample of in-depth accident data (e.g., NASS/CDS). Therefore, the prototype system is a useful tool which can be used to estimate the net overall effectiveness of various candidate safety technologies combined, providing a metric which can be used to help optimize the effectiveness of integrated vehicle safety systems.

Suzuki, Hideki, Sugimoto, Yoichi, Van Auken, R. Michael, Zellner, John W.

Evaluation of Accident Parameters in a Numerical Fleet for Assessing Compatibility

2005-01-070704/11/2005

On behalf of NHTSA, the European commission and the Dutch Ministry of Traffic and Transport, the Safety department of TNO Automotive is performing numerical fleet studies using multi-body vehicle models. Currently nine vehicle models are available, each of a different vehicle class, two vehicle models with a modified front-structure. The aim is to develop strategies for evaluation of front-end structures minimizing the total harm in car-to-car crashes on a fleet-wide basis in different accident scenarios. For these studies multi-body models were constructed from existing finite element models. Front-end structure and passenger cell were modeled in detail to provide realistic deformation modes. Furthermore dummies, airbags, belts and main interior parts like dashboard and steering wheel were included. To qualify the performance of the multi-body vehicle models for crashworthiness in an entire fleet, a study on offset frontal angled impacts was performed. Several parameter sweeps over

Kellendonk, Gijs, Van Der Zweep, Cor, Mooi, Herman

Post-Collision Vehicle Fires - Causes and Room for Improvement

2005-01-142204/11/2005

Although post-collision vehicle fires occur in less than 1% of all traffic accidents, they pose an enormous threat to the passengers involved. According to an estimate made by the German Federal Highway Research Institute about 80 persons are killed by post-collision vehicle fires each year in Germany, while the NHTSA refers to about 300 in the USA. To learn more about what causes the fires and to thus be able to conclude prevention measures, DEKRA analysed 79 accidents involving a vehicle fire. The consequent report identifies the main causes of ignition and the combustibles most frequently involved. Rudimentary proposals for improvements are outlined and relevant legal regulations are listed.

Egelhaaf, Markus, Berg, F. Alexander

Factors Influencing the Likelihood of Fatality and Serious/Fatal Injury in Single-Vehicle Rollover Crashes

2005-01-094404/11/2005

Various factors were evaluated to determine their influence on the odds of front seat occupants receiving either fatal or serious/fatal injuries in single-vehicle rollovers. Factors evaluated included roof strength-to-vehicle weight ratio (as measured in accordance with FMVSS 216), and SAE H61 Effective Headroom. Roof strength-to-weight ratio had no statistically significant effect (p>0.05) on the likelihood of fatality or serious/fatal injury for belted or unbelted drivers. SAE H61 Effective Headroom had no statistically significant effect (p>0.05) on the likelihood of fatal or serious/fatal injury for seat belted drivers in rollovers.

Padmanaban, Jeya, Moffatt, Edward A., Marth, Debora R.

Designing Telematic Devices to Meet the Functional Requirements of an Increasing Elderly Population

2005-26-07301/19/2005

An increase in the number of elderly drivers presents a new and substantial global challenge to the automotive industry in developing the next generation of automobile and telematic devices to support the driver. Age-related changes in information processing are widely reported in the literature with varying levels of relevance to safe driving. The most significant age-related deficits are associated with visual attention, dual task performance, filtering of irrelevant information, reaction time, motor performance and sequencing, and have their greatest impact on complex road traffic situations where several channels of information must be processed in parallel and at speed. Such deficits are reflected in the driving habits and the type of accidents in which some older drivers are involved. In complex driving conditions most drivers would benefit from some form of in-vehicle assistive device or improvement in automobile design. However, research suggests that for older drivers, the

Middleton, Helen, Westwood, Diane, Kok, Dirk, Robson, Jeremy

Analysis of Rollover Injuries for 125 Occupants at a Single Trauma Center With Special Focus on Head and Neck Injury

2004-01-032103/08/2004

Analysis of the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) data reveals that vehicle rollover accidents account for a relatively a small number of accidents, but the associated frequency of serious injury is high compared to frontal or side impact. These data demonstrate the apparently elevated probability of head and neck injury during rollover, with head injury occurring more frequently, injured 4.5 times more frequently than the neck when considering all injuries. Automotive industry researchers have performed numerous rollover tests with instrumented ATD's and have predicted an elevated probability of neck injury with little chance of head injury. This contradicts field data (NASS-CDS) which suggests a high frequency of head injury with little chance of neck injury. This difference may be explained in part, through the different volumes of data presented in the literature. For example, while government accident statistics represent a sample of all accidents (∼ 5000 cases per year

Pate, Biren J., Atkinson, Patrick J, Sadowski, Jason B., Fernandez, David J.

Feasible Steps towards Improved Crash Compatibility

2004-01-116703/08/2004

Compatibility has been a research issue for many years now. It has gained more importance recently due to significant improvements in primary and secondary safety. Using a rigorous approach, combining accident research and theoretical scientific considerations, measures to improve vehicle-vehicle compatibility, with an emphasis on feasibility, were discussed. German accident research statistics showed that frontal impacts are of higher statistical significance than side impacts. Based on this and the high potential for improvement due high available deformation energy, the frontal impact configuration was identified as the most appropriate collision mode for addressing the compatibility issue. In side impacts, accident avoidance was identified as the most feasible and sensible measure. For frontal vehicle-vehicle impacts, both trucks and passenger cars were identified as opponents of high statistical significance. Based on the bulkhead concept, a theoretical range of survivable

Haenchen, Dietmar, Schwarz, Thomas, Thomas, Gareth, Zobel, Robert

The Effects of Occupant Age on Patterns of Rib Fractures to Belt-Restrained Drivers and Front Passengers in Frontal Crashes in Japan

2003-22-001610/27/2003

The injuries sustained by elderly car occupants in traffic accidents are usually more severe than those of younger occupants. Accident statistics data show that injuries to elderly occupants frequently occur in the chest. Belted drivers and front seat passengers in cars involved in frontal collisions were investigated using detailed data on traffic accidents in Japan. From a total of 246 vehicle occupants, the total number of injuries among the 167 occupants listed as injured was 462. Most of the injuries to the chest were minor ones such as skin abrasions or contusions. However, 21 occupants sustained rib fractures and 7 persons even sustained internal organ injuries. Younger occupants appeared not to sustain rib fractures even in higher impact collisions. Conversely, elderly occupants frequently experienced rib fractures near the seat belt line even under lower impact severity. It was also typically observed that rib fractures in case of airbag deployment were more often found in the

Shimamura, Munemasa, Ohhashi, Hideyuki, Yamazaki, Minora

DEVELOPMENT OF TEST PROCEDURES AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA TO IMPROVE COMPATIBILITY IN CAR FRONTAL COLLISIONS

2003-06-001305/19/2003

Compatibility is now recognised as the next major step forward for improved car occupant secondary safety. The work reported here forms part of a research project that was undertaken to understand the current compatibility problems in car to car collisions and develop crash evaluation procedures that are suitable for consumer and legislative testing. The research performed to date has focused on the structural performance of vehicles in order to provide a safe environment for the protection of the occupants. This should also provide sufficient space to allow intelligent restraint systems of the future to operate effectively. This paper outlines the present understanding of compatibility for frontal impact collisions and reports the current state of development of three possible test procedures to address the fundamental issues, namely: structural interaction, frontal stiffness matching and passenger compartment strength. The development of a new deformable barrier face and revised

Edwards, Mervyn, Davies, Huw, Hobbs, Adrian

Rear-End Collision Velocity Reduction System

2003-01-050303/03/2003

In Japan, rear-end collisions occur at higher frequency than many other kinds of traffic accident. The causes of rear-end collisions were therefore investigated. Accident statistics was used to conduct a statistical traffic accident analysis and a questionnaire survey was used to conduct a detailed traffic accident analysis. Simulation was then used to perform an accident analysis on the basis of those studies. The results suggested that many of these accidents were caused by momentary inattention during daily driving. Research was therefore carried out to determine what kind of collision avoidance assist system would be effective for use at such times. Tests were carried out to measure the obstacle avoidance characteristics of drivers using actual cars, and control timing parameters were established. In this process, the warning timing was set so that it would not lose its impact as a warning and also so that it would not interfere with the driver. The system was configured to make up

Kodaka, Kenji, Otabe, Makoto, Urai, Yoshihiro, Koike, Hiroyuki

Development of a Vehicle Structure for Crashworthiness - Telco Experience

2003-26-001001/18/2003

Vehicles are likely to meet different types of crashes in real life. Vehicle structural performance in such accidents is by far the most important factor affecting occupant injury. Though advanced occupant restraint systems can be provided for reducing occupant injuries, their performance itself depends on performance of the vehicle structure. This paper dwells on the structural performance requirements and concerns in various types of crashes and some possible solutions. The paper also briefly explains how the structure affects the performance of occupant restraint system. The paper is based on the development work on an SUV, which has a bodyover chassis design.

Tank, Milind M., Jadhav, A. D.

Vehicle Frontal Collision: Comparative Analysis Between Brazilian and United Nations Regulations

2002-01-356011/19/2002

1) Frontal crash regulation was introduced in Brazil in the early seventies. It was CONTRAN Resolution no. 463/73, item 4, which was based in the United Nations regulation (ECE R 12), that was state-of-the-art at that time. It reflected very well the concerns that existed then: during the test a vehicle was launched at a speed of 48 km/h against a rigid barrier. After the crash-test only two criteria were verified, in order to check conformity to the regulation: the steering-wheel center maximum displacement in the horizontal direction, which should be smaller than 127 mm, and the fuel quantity allowed to eventually leak from the circuit and reservoir, that should be lower than 28 grams per minute. In that methodology there was no evaluation of the possible injuries that could happen to the vehicle occupants. Test conditions, in terms of vehicle speed, type of barrier and relative position between vehicle and barrier proved later on not to be statistically very representative of the

Custódio, Fabiano B., Monteiro, Luiz F., Saltini, 44, Marco A.

Decision Making for Collision Avoidance Systems

2002-01-040303/04/2002

Driver errors cause a majority of all car accidents. Forward collision avoidance systems aim at avoiding, or at least mitigating, host vehicle frontal collisions, of which rear-end collisions are one of the most common. This is done by either warning the driver or braking or steering away, respectively, where each action requires its own considerations and design. We here focus on forward collision by braking, and present a general method for calculating the risk for collision. A brake maneuver is activated to mitigate the accident when the probability of collision is one, taking all driver actions into considerations. We describe results from a simulation study using a large number of scenarios, created from extensive accident statistics. We also show some results from an implementation of a forward collision avoidance system in a Volvo V70. The system has been tested in real traffic, and in collision scenarios (with an inflatable car) showing promising results.

Jansson, Jonas, Johansson, Jonas, Gustafsson, Fredrik

Improved Side Impact Protection: Design Optimisation for Minimum Harm

2002-01-016703/04/2002

This paper describes a side impact crash simulation technique and optimisation process developed to select vehicle structural design, padding and airbag characteristics that provide the best protection for occupants of different size, gender and fragility in crashes of different type, direction and severity. This work is part of a collaborative research project between Australian car manufacturer Holden, Monash University Accident Research Centre and other partners with funding from a government research grant, to developed a design technique providing optimum protection to the Australian community involved in side impact crashes. Multi-variable optimisation using a full vehicle side impact finite element model is not currently feasible as this approach would use an impractically high level of computer resources. Consequently, a unique and extremely efficient side impact crash simulation technique has been developed to support the design optimisation process. Created using MADYMO3D

Nelson, David, Sparke, Laurie

An Analysis of Recent Accidents Involving Upper Extremity Fractures Associated with Airbag Deployment

2002-01-002203/04/2002

Prior experimental and field studies have demonstrated an increased risk of upper extremity fracture due the deployment of frontal airbags. The experimental studies provide valuable insight as to likely injury mechanisms; namely, increasing proximity increases the risk of forearm fracture. Still, field data is needed to validate these experimental findings. The available field data has largely been derived from direct case study analysis or a review of government accident statistics. In both cases, the datasets were comprised solely of pre-1995 era vehicles. Such data represents early generation airbag designs and there has been little additional study in this area. In addition, there has been an absence of fracture pattern analyses as a function of airbag deployment and non-deployment. Such an analysis would help elucidate the role of the deploying airbag on upper extremity fracture in the current fleet. In the current study we analyzed the NASS database and cases admitted to our

Atkinson, Patrick, Mclean, Michelle, Telehowski, Paul, Khan, Imran, Martin, Sidney, Hariharan, Prem, Atkinson, Theresa

Innovations in Lighting with Adaptive Headlamp Technology

2001-01-339210/01/2001

The development of headlamps was found to experience a dynamic process. For more than 50 years the tungsten double filament bulbs (Bilux) had been dominating the lighting technology, followed in the seventies by the H4 bulb. Since the middle of the eighties the modern filament bulbs as H7 (now H9, H11) have been available. The Xenon gas discharge (or HID-) technology reached the automotive market in the nineties. Now the development is heading towards the new technology step. Adaptive „intelligent“ headlamps will bring the headlamp from its isolation in the front module back into the world of electronics and car networking systems.

Hamm, Michael, Rosenhahn, Ernst-Olaf

Is ‘Safe’ Safe Enough?

2001-01-267109/11/2001

This paper advances the proposition that although the outside world perceives aviation as ‘safe’ and accepting that the accident rate is slowly falling, there remain a number of accidents every year which appear to have common causes. Is aviation really a learning industry? Could significant progress be made by requiring airlines to demonstrate that lessons have been learnt and procedures changed accordingly? Where the cause is technical, change occurs through the manufacturer and the regulator. Where operating procedures and human factors are involved changes occur slowly, if at all. The author suggests three courses of action for improvement.

Passmore, James

POTENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTRONIC STABILITY PROGRAMS (ESP) - WHAT EUROPEAN FIELD STUDIES TELL US

2001-06-019206/04/2001

ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) systems enable the stability of a car to be maintained during critical manoeuvres and to correct potential understeering or oversteering. As a result, ESP could help improve car safety by avoiding loss of vehicle control accidents as well as by reducing their severity or consequences. This paper describes an evaluation of the potential effectiveness of ESP if it was installed more widely. It is based on data from the European Accident Causation Survey (or “EACS”) which contains information about 1,674 accidents in 5 European countries. Analysis of the EACS data shows that in approximately 18% of all injury accidents and in 34% of fatal accidents, ESP would have a certain influence (either reducing the likelihood of an accident or avoiding the accident altogether). Where accident causation was identified as “loss of vehicle control”, ESP would have a certain benefit in 42% of cases with injury outcome and in 67% of the fatal crashes.

Sferco, Raimondo, Page, Yves, Le Coz, Jean-Yves, Fay, Paul A

ACCIDENTS WITH VANS AND BOX-TYPE TRUCKS (TRANSPORTERS): RESULTS FROM OFFICIAL STATISTICS AND REAL-LIFE CRASH ANALYSES

2001-06-000206/04/2001

Everyone who is ordering goods via catalogue or internet initialises the use of a van or box-type truck (so called transporter) for delivery close to the front door. Increasing needs lead to an increasing number of such vehicles on the road and corresponding increasing number of accidents. In Germany there is a considerable increase in the frequency of registered goods vehicles with a maximum permissible weight less than 7.5 t and of accidents with involvement of these vehicles in the long term since the end of the 80ies. Transporters are the majority within this vehicle category. With this background the accident research unit of DEKRA started to study real world crashes with involved transporters. A result of the study is that transporters drive and collide at similar speeds as cars but only 20 % of the transporter drivers wear seat belts. Transporters collide most frequently with passenger cars. The study shows that the frontal impact with oncoming traffic is the most frequent group

Niewöhner, Walter, Berg, F. Alexander, Froncz, Markus

Improved safety for drivers and couriers of coaches

2001-06-013806/04/2001

According to general accidents statistics a coach is the safest means of transportation with respect to fatalities per billion traveler kilometers. Reasons for this include the existing regulations related to coach safety and the self-regulation of the coach building industry. Most passive safety standards are, however, more related to the safety of the passengers and less to the safety of driver and courier. Their typical position at the front of the coach and the fact that most heavy structural parts of the coach are behind their position in the coach, make the driver and courier vulnerable in case of a frontal collision. The injury risk in specific frontal collisions can be reduced by applying crash technology within the front structure of the coach. By redesign and reorganizing the structure and the packaging underneath the driver and courier, the kinetic energy developed in a typical coach-to- trailerback collision can be absorbed whilst maintaining a survival space for driver and

de Coo, Peter, Hazelebach, Rene, van Oorschot, Eric, Wessels, Jaap

PROGRESS OF PASSIVE SAFETY IN CAR-TO-CAR FRONTAL COLLISIONS: RESULTS FROM REAL-LIFE CRASH ANALYSES AND FROM CRASH TESTS

2001-06-019806/04/2001

The progress of passive safety in car-to-car frontal collisions can be seen very clearly from the results of crash tests with old and new car models. The published federal accident statistics show an overall effort in passive safety, which is obvious by decreasing figures of killed and severely injured car occupants per year on German roads. But it is not possible to exclusively focus on car crashes with frontal collisions because the characteristics investigated in official statistics are not detailed enough. Therefore additional in-depth studies are necessary. The paper shows results of car-to-car and car-to-barrier frontal impacts for old and new car models. Some results of evaluations using the federal German statistics show historical trends in a more general view. Interdisciplinary real-life crash studies are focused on car-to-car frontal collisions. Results of connecting assessments using vehicle deformation index (VDI), energy equivalent speed (EES), velocity change (delta-v

Berg, F. Alexander, Rücker, Peter, Niewöhner, Walter, Miltner, Erich, Stein, Kirsten Marion

Items per page:

1 – 50 of 162