CASPER–Improvement of Child Safety in Cars

Abstract

The EC CASPER (Child Advanced Safety Project for European Roads) project aims at decreasing injuries and fatalities of child occupants. This goal represents a major social and economic benefit for the whole European Community. CASPER has carried out a two way approach for improving child safety. Results are complementary. Firstly, the improvement of quality of use of restraint systems is certainly a good way for a rapid and consequent improvement of the situation, secondly, it is necessary to give guidelines and reliable tools to design protection devices that are easier to use, have a higher level of crash performance and are used for a large proportion of children. CASPER involves a consortium of 15 European partners representing a good balance between industry, medical and technical universities, road state institutes and organizations specialized in road safety issues for a 36 month project. This project was accepted under the GA n°218564 of the FP7-SST-2007-RTD-1-program of the European Commision that is partially funding the project. Data from previous European projects were used as a basis. In-depth accident investigations, misuse (incorrect use of a restraint system) and sociological field data collection took place and were analyzed. Existing tools used for the evaluation of protection of children were improved while missing ones were developed. These are used to address issues identified by the field data analysis. In addition to proposals of improvements for the Q-series crash test dummies, further development of injury risk curves both for frontal and side impact is ongoing. Finite element models have been developed for child dummies and for human child bodies. An analysis of test procedures was done in order to define the highest priorities. CASPER is now finalizing the tools and proposing solutions that could be applied to improve child safety in cars, whilst evaluating if some of these solutions could be transferred to other transportation modes.