Evaluation of Crush Protection Devices for agricultural All-Terrain Vehicles

Abstract

Statistics show that there are a large number of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) rollover-related injuries and fatalities in the agriculture sector. Properly designed and installed Crush Protection Devices (CPDs) can potentially decrease the operator injuries in an ATV rollover accident. The CPD of a vehicle protects the operator by increasing the crush protection zone (CPZ) under the overturned vehicle. Several operational and safety evaluation criteria for ATVs equipped with CPDs were developed in this study. Some of criteria were evaluated in previous studies but required further assessment. Previous studies regarding the CPD performance in ATV rollover accidents were reviewed. Also, several factors related to operational and safety criteria for three designs of CPD (Quadbar, Lifeguard, and Air-Quad) mounted on 13 ATV models were measured. Factors include the shape and volume of the rear and side CPZ and the increase in the height of the centre of gravity height when the ATV is equipped with a CPD. The results of this study showed that the installation of a CPD increases the CPZ volume compared to the baseline ATV, in the event of a rollover accident. The AIR-Quad, Quadbar, and Lifeguard systems increased the rear CPZ volume with an average of 0.48 m3 (111% increase), 0.39 m3 (92% increase), and 0.15 m3 (35% increase), respectively, compared to the average CPZ of a baseline ATV which is 0.44 m3. Also, a CPD increases the distance between the seat reference point and the ground surface during a rollover accident.