Vehicle Occupant Protection Research Articles

Manufacturing quality of a vehicle occupant protection module: a case study approach

Manufacturing quality of a vehicle occupant protection module: a case study approach

Structural anatomy and temporal trends of road accident research: Full-scope analyses of the field

Introduction: Scholarly research on road accidents over the past 50 years has generated substantial literature. We propose a robust search strategy to retrieve and analyze this literature. Method: Analyses was focused on estimating the size of this literature and examining its intellectual anatomy and temporal trends using bibliometric indicators of its articles. Results: The size of the literature is estimated to have exceeded N = 25,000 items as of 2020. At the highest level of aggregation, patterns of term co-occurrence in road accident articles point to the presence of six major divisions: (i) law, legislation & road trauma statistics; (ii) vehicular safety technology; (iii) statistical modelling; (iv) driving simulator experiments of driving behavior; (v) driver style and personality (social psychology); and (vi) vehicle crashworthiness and occupant protection division. Analyses identify the emergence of various research clusters and their progress over time along with their respective influential entities. For example, driver injury severity ” and crash frequency show distinct characteristics of trending topics, with research activities in those areas notably intensified since 2015 Also, two developing clusters labelled autonomous vehicle and automated vehicle show distinct signs of becoming emerging streams of road accident literature. Conclusions: By objectively documenting temporal patterns in the development of the field, these analyses could offer new levels of insight into the intellectual composition of this field, its future directions, and knowledge gaps. Practical Applications: The proposed search strategy can be modified to generate specific subsets of this literature and assist future conventional reviews. The findings of temporal analyses could also be instrumental in informing and enriching literature review sections of original research articles. Analyses of authorships can facilitate collaborations, particularly across various divisions of accident research field.

Review of average sized male and female occupant models in European regulatory safety assessment tests and European laws: Gaps and bridging suggestions

There are two parts to the aim of this study. The first part comprised reviewing how men and women are represented in regulatory tests conducted to assess adult occupant safety in vehicles in Europe. This part also contains an overview of some differences between females and males that may influence dynamic responses in a crash. Based on the results of the review an outline for how to better represent the adult population in regulatory tests has been suggested.The second part was to reflect on these issues from a specific critical legal perspective, that is from a Gender Legal Studies point of view, focusing on the European legal framework that governs the tests of adult occupant safety in vehicles in Europe. Since the beginning of the 1970s legal scholars have shown in several areas of law that there is a gap between superior legislation and practice, but also between gender equality as a superior legal principle and subordinate legal rules that govern safety requirements. The same pattern can be discerned in the area of Transportation Law.The results of the review of the ECE regulations shows that the average sized male represents the adult population and that the average sized female has been excluded from regulations assessing the protection of adult vehicle occupants. The fundamental values, on which the Union is founded, including the overarching goals of the Union, seem to be rendered invisible in the laws and critically impact the safety of women in everyday life. According to the gender system theory, the interests and priorities of men are continuing to shape the law. Consequently, the law neglecting the safety of women on roads has implications on the development of society. The lack of legal provisions that demand female crash test dummies representing the female part of the population, means that there is no incentive for car manufacturers, authorities or other stakeholders to develop test methods and female crash test dummies in ways that promote political objectives expressed in legal form, i.e., the legal values expressed in general provisions and principles stated in the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, such as gender equality between women and men as well as non-discriminationThis study highlights the undeniable gap between the legal framework and legal requirements with regard to occupant safety for the whole adult population. It would be attainable to bridge this particular gender gap by providing equal representation for the female part of the population with regard to vehicle safety, as that males benefit from.

A quantitative approach to assessing the efficacy of occupant protection programs: A case study from Montana

Quantitative evaluation of vehicle occupant protection programs is critical for ensuring efficient government resource allocation, but few methods exist for conducting evaluation across multiple programs simultaneously. Here we present an analysis of occupant protection efficacy in the state of Montana. This approach relies on seat belt compliance rates as measured by the National Occupant Protection Usage Survey (NOPUS). A hierarchical logistic regression model is used to estimate the impacts of four Montana Department of Transportation (MDT)-funded occupant protection programs used in the state of Montana, following adjustment for a suite of potential confounders. Activity from two programs, Buckle Up coalitions and media campaigns, are associated with increased seat belt use in Montana, whereas the impact of another program, Selective Traffic Enforcement, is potentially masked by other program activity. A final program, Driver’s Education, is not associated with any shift in seat belt use. This method allows for a preliminary quantitative estimation of program impacts without requiring states to obtain any new seat belt use data. This approach provides states a preliminary look at program impacts, and a means for carefully planning future program allocation and investigation.

Analysis of the Deformation Mode and Determination of the Energy Dissipated by the Resistance Structure of the Vehicles

The increasingly tougher international regulations force motor vehicle designers and manufacturers to find complex solutions that should increase the protection of motor vehicle occupants. In this paper the author carries out an analysis on the energy absorption by a front strut-type structure of a motor vehicle involved in head-on collision with a rigid barrier inclined at various angles. Small overlap collisions open new challenges for car manufacturers with a view to developing structures able to absorb the impact and provide safety to the motor vehicle occupants.

A Systems View of Vehicle Landmine Survivability

The protection of vehicle occupants against landmines is a systems problem which must consider multiple failure paths that can lead to occupant injuries. The response of a vehicle to underbelly blast from a landmine can be divided into three categories: 1) hull response to an immediate external blast load; 2) internal vehicle dynamics; and 3) global vehicle motions. Vehicle survivability is a broad and complex topic which is discussed in these terms and examples of protective subsystem elements are included. This paper argues that decomposing a complex blast protection system into its components from a systems point of view should contribute to the enhanced survivability of vehicle occupants.

Reliability-based design optimization for vehicle occupant protection system based on ensemble of metamodels

An Occupant Protection System (OPS) has very important applications in an automobile accident, which can save an occupant from fateful hurt or death. To provide a feasible framework for decreasing ...

2103 自動車乗員保護システムの応答曲面モデルを利用した多目的最適化(OS21.計算力学と最適化(1),オーガナイズドセッション)

2103 自動車乗員保護システムの応答曲面モデルを利用した多目的最適化(OS21.計算力学と最適化(1),オーガナイズドセッション)

Milliseconds to Prevent Permanent Crash Injuries

Although cars today are much safer than 20 years ago, traffic accidents kill thousands of people every year and seriously injure nearly five million. The mission of Autoliv is to continuously increase vehicle occupant protection by introducing breakthrough safety innovations and extending its specialized safety equipment offering. To evaluate the performance of airbag and seat belt systems – and reduce the noise they generate – Autoliv uses LMS test systems to measure noise levels that test dummies face during crash simulation tests. LMS test systems also provide the vibration control of environmental noise measurements that are executed to evaluate individual safety products, such as seat belts, seat frames and steering column assemblies. Overall, LMS Test.Lab guarantees maximum measurement reliability and reduces testing throughput substantially.

Milliseconds to Prevent Permanent Crash Injuries

Although cars today are much safer than 20 years ago, traffic accidents kill thousands of people every year and seriously injure nearly five million. The mission of Autoliv is to continuously increase vehicle occupant protection by introducing breakthrough safety innovations and extending its specialized safety equipment offering. To evaluate the performance of airbag and seat belt systems – and reduce the noise they generate – Autoliv uses LMS test systems to measure noise levels that test dummies face during crash simulation tests. LMS test systems also provide the vibration control of environmental noise measurements that are executed to evaluate individual safety products, such as seat belts, seat frames and steering column assemblies. Overall, LMS Test. Lab guarantees maximum measurement reliability and reduces testing throughput substantially.

Fragility and crash over-representation among older drivers in Western Australia

This study assessed age-related and gender differences in the relative contribution of fragility and crash over-representation to serious injuries per crash-involved driver in Western Australia. Police-reported crashes for the period 1998–2003 were extracted from the Western Australian Road Injury Database. For each passenger vehicle driver age and gender group, serious injuries per crash-involved driver and driver involvements in crashes per 100 million vehicle-kilometre travelled (VKT) were calculated as the respective measure of fragility and crash over-representation. Results from the decomposition method of analysis showed that older drivers over the age of 70 sustained serious injury rates more than twice as high as those of the 30–59-year-old drivers. Fragility increased with age, contributing between 47% and 95% for drivers above 65 years, but crash over-representation was the dominant factor for male drivers above 80 years. In contrast, fragility contributed little to the excess injury risk of younger drivers under the age of 30. The importance of fragility as a contributing factor to the inflated serious injury risk per vehicle-kilometre travelled for older drivers suggested that road safety initiatives should be directed towards the protection of vehicle occupants as well as screening for their driving ability.

Reduction in road fatalities and injuries after legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts: experience in Victoria and the rest of Australia.

In 1970 the Government of the State of Victoria became the first in the 'western' world to introduce legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts. Within 14 months the other Australian states followed. Seat belt wearing rates increased to attain 90 per cent in 1977. This paper presents an evaluation of changes during the period 1955--77 in the incidence of road crash fatalities and injuries for vehicle occupants in Victoria and the rest of Australia. The introduction of the legislation in Victoria and subsequently in the other Australian states coincided with significant and marked decreases in driver and passenger fatality and injury rates (numbers per 10 000 registered vehicles). The decreases were enough to reduce the total numbers of vehicle occupant fatalities and injuries for all post-legislation years in Victoria. The improvements have been maintained throughout the entire post-legislation period. The legislation did not apply to child passengers of less than 8 years of age and the frequency of seat belt or harness wearing among them remained low. These children did not share in the overall improvement for passengers. The Australian experience supports the view that legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts is the single most effective method available for the protection of vehicle occupants in road crashes.

Influence of crash severity and contact surfaces characteristics on the dynamic behavior of forward facing child occupants

The safety of children as occupants, in the event of vehicle collisions, is a pressing issue demanding more research and investigation to reduce harm and minimize injuries. Statistics show that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for children, despite improved crashworthiness of vehicles and effective child restraint systems (CRS). Studies indicate that during a collision, children develop injury patterns, which are not fully understood. These child injury patterns are different from those experienced by adults due to differences in weight, height, and body proportions. Infants and young children have a disproportionately large head, with a high center of gravity and a weaker neck structure resulting in relatively poor head support. Vehicle speed, weight, impact mode (full-frontal, front offset, angled, side, or rear), type and location of the child restraint system and the interior design of the occupant compartment are some of the important factors that influence injury patterns and degree of harm in a child occupant. In this paper, a multi-body dynamic simulation model is developed, using MADYMO software, to investigate the behavior of a TNO-P3/4 9-month-old forward facing child dummy in a four-point convertible child safety seat. The reasonable correlation between the developed model simulations and experimental results from a CRABI 12-month child dummy sled test indicates that the model is robust. Simulations using three crash pulses, soft, moderate, and severe, are conducted to investigate the influence of crash severity on the child dummy head and thorax accelerations, upper neck forces, and injury parameters. The influence of contact surfaces characteristics is also investigated to shed some light on ways to improve child occupant kinematics during vehicle collisions. The study indicates that dynamic simulation is efficient, cost effective, and viable tool for vehicle occupant protection studies, policy change recommendations, and vehicle design modifications.

Influence of crash severity and contact surfaces characteristics on the dynamic behavior of forward facing child occupants

Abstract The safety of children as occupants, in the event of vehicle collisions, is a pressing issue demanding more research and investigation to reduce harm and minimize injuries. Statistics show that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for children, despite improved crashworthiness of vehicles and effective child restraint systems (CRS). Studies indicate that during a collision, children develop injury patterns, which are not fully understood. These child injury patterns are different from those experienced by adults due to differences in weight, height, and body proportions. Infants and young children have a disproportionately large head, with a high center of gravity and a weaker neck structure resulting in relatively poor head support. Vehicle speed, weight, impact mode (full-frontal, front offset, angled, side, or rear), type and location of the child restraint system and the interior design of the occupant compartment are some of the important factors that influence injury patterns and degree of harm in a child occupant. In this paper, a multi-body dynamic simulation model is developed, using MADYMO software, to investigate the behavior of a TNO-P3/4 9-month-old forward facing child dummy in a four-point convertible child safety seat. The reasonable correlation between the developed model simulations and experimental results from a CRABI 12-month child dummy sled test indicates that the model is robust. Simulations using three crash pulses, soft, moderate, and severe, are conducted to investigate the influence of crash severity on the child dummy head and thorax accelerations, upper neck forces, and injury parameters. The influence of contact surfaces characteristics is also investigated to shed some light on ways to improve child occupant kinematics during vehicle collisions. The study indicates that dynamic simulation is efficient, cost effective, and viable tool for vehicle occupant protection studies, policy change recommendations, and vehicle design modifications.

A Critical Review of Polymer-based Composite Automotive Bumper Systems

An automobile bumper is a structural component, which contributes to vehicle crashworthiness or occupant protection during front or rear collisions. The bumper systems also protect the hood, trunk, fuel, exhaust and cooling system as well as safety related equipments. A brief description of bumper components and a critical review of polymer-based bumper systems with specific methodology are provided. This article advocates proper bumper design and material selection. The authors also discuss bumper components from the standpoint of the materials and their manufacturing processes.

Fragility versus excessive crash involvement as determinants of high death rates per vehicle-mile of travel among older drivers

Using multiple national data systems, the roles of fragility (susceptibility to injury) versus excessive crash involvement in the increased fatality risk of older drivers per vehicle-mile of travel (VMT) were estimated. For each age and gender group, deaths per driver involved in a crash (a marker of fragility) and drivers involved in crashes per VMT (a marker of excessive crash involvement) were computed. Compared with drivers ages 30–59, those younger than 20 and those 75 or older both had much higher driver death rates per VMT. The highest death rates per mile driven, 13-fold increases, were observed among drivers age 80 or older, who also had the highest death rates per crash. Fragility began to increase at ages 60–64 and increased steadily with advancing age, accounting for about 60–95% of the excess death rates per VMT in older drivers, depending on age group and gender. Among older drivers, marked excesses in crash involvement did not begin until age 75, but explained no more than about 30–45% of the elevated risk in this group of drivers; excessive crashes explained less of the risk among drivers ages 60–74. In contrast, crash over-involvement was the major factor contributing to the high risk of death among drivers younger than 20, accounting for more than 95% of their elevated death rates per VMT. Although both fragility and crash over-involvement contributed to the excess death rates among older drivers per VMT, fragility appeared to be of over-riding importance. These findings suggest that measures to improve the protection of older vehicle occupants in crashes should be vigorously pursued.

Braided Inflatable Tubular Structure Technology in Crash Safety

Most innovations may account for the use of non-conventional tools in current situations or the use of current tools in non-conventional situations. This paper describes the relationship of braided structure technology to the implementation of air bags in crash safety technology. The first introduction of the Inflatable Tubular Structure (ITS®) to the crash safety community was in March 1995. Then, in early 1997, (ITS®) was implemented in the automotive industry as a side-impacted head protection device. In several real-world side-impact crashes of vehicles equipped with the ITS, it reportedly “saved the lives of the vehicle passengers.” The same principle of the ITS in side-impact head protection devices has been extended to several other restraint devices, as well as new environments. This paper briefly describes design parameters of braid technology and various applications of braid structures for the development of inflatable restraints for enhanced vehicle occupant protection.

Crash testing: using computers to save lives.

There are two parts to the aim of this study. The first part comprised reviewing how men and women are represented in regulatory tests conducted to assess adult occupant safety in vehicles in Europe. This part also contains an overview of some differences between females and males that may influence dynamic responses in a crash. Based on the results of the review an outline for how to better represent the adult population in regulatory tests has been suggested.The second part was to reflect on these issues from a specific critical legal perspective, that is from a Gender Legal Studies point of view, focusing on the European legal framework that governs the tests of adult occupant safety in vehicles in Europe. Since the beginning of the 1970s legal scholars have shown in several areas of law that there is a gap between superior legislation and practice, but also between gender equality as a superior legal principle and subordinate legal rules that govern safety requirements. The same pattern can be discerned in the area of Transportation Law.The results of the review of the ECE regulations shows that the average sized male represents the adult population and that the average sized female has been excluded from regulations assessing the protection of adult vehicle occupants. The fundamental values, on which the Union is founded, including the overarching goals of the Union, seem to be rendered invisible in the laws and critically impact the safety of women in everyday life. According to the gender system theory, the interests and priorities of men are continuing to shape the law. Consequently, the law neglecting the safety of women on roads has implications on the development of society. The lack of legal provisions that demand female crash test dummies representing the female part of the population, means that there is no incentive for car manufacturers, authorities or other stakeholders to develop test methods and female crash test dummies in ways that promote political objectives expressed in legal form, i.e., the legal values expressed in general provisions and principles stated in the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, such as gender equality between women and men as well as non-discriminationThis study highlights the undeniable gap between the legal framework and legal requirements with regard to occupant safety for the whole adult population. It would be attainable to bridge this particular gender gap by providing equal representation for the female part of the population with regard to vehicle safety, as that males benefit from.

Predicting clinician injury prevention counseling for young children.

Injury is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in children and an important topic for counseling. To describe and explain clinicians' reported counseling behavior during the well-child examinations for children aged 5 years and younger on the following 4 injury prevention topics: motor vehicle crashes, toxic ingestion, drowning, and firearm injuries. A random sample of 465 pediatricians, family physicians, and pediatric nurse practitioners in an urban setting received mailed questionnaires; 325 (69.9%) responded. Multivariate logistic regression predicting counseling on each injury prevention topic was performed. Most reported discussing motor vehicle occupant protection (66.2%) and toxic ingestion prevention (62.1%) during the well-child examination. Only 31.8% stated they counseled on drowning prevention and 15.7%, on firearm injury prevention. Knowledge of injury mortality and morbidity rates was not associated with counseling. For most topics, female respondents were more likely to counsel than male respondents (motor vehicle crash odds ratio [OR], 2.24 [P = .03]; toxic ingestion OR, 1.82 [P = .05]; drowning OR, 1.97 [P = .04]). Health maintenance organization settings predicted injury prevention counseling for most topics (motor vehicle crash OR, 2.52 [P = .04]; toxic ingestion OR, 2.77 [P = .01]; firearm injury OR, 2.97 [P = .001]). Clinicians placing lower importance on counseling were less likely to counsel on drowning and firearm injury (drowning OR, 0.73 [P = .006]; firearm injury OR, 0.58 [P<.001]). Clinicians' knowledge of local injury epidemiology did not influence their counseling on these topics. Clinicians and their patients might benefit by using programs such as The Injury Prevention Program to help them standardize their approach to injury prevention counseling during the routine well-child examination.

Strengthening Motor Vehicle Occupant Protection Laws: American College of Preventive Medicine Public Policy Statement

Burden of Suffering Motor vehicle injuries are the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, killing 40,000 Americans and disabling 1,800,000 each year. (1) Motor vehicle crashes are responsible for more traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and more potential years of life lost in the United States than any other cause and are the leading cause of death among Americans 5-32 years of age. (1) The death rate from motor vehicle collisions, 1.8/100 million vehicle miles/year, has been gradually declining, a multifactorial trend thought to be associated with improved automobile design and safety features (such as seat belts, collapsible steering columns, improved auto body design) lowered speed limits, improvements in road design, and stringent enforcement of traffic safety laws. (2) Legislation mandates that U.S. automobiles manufactured after September 1, 1989, have automated protection (either air bags, motorized shoulder belt, or automatic lap-shoulder belts anchored to the door) as well as lap-shoulder belts in the rear seats. The air bag is a supplemental restraint system, designed to be used together with lap-shoulder seat belt restraints. Unlike other improvements, seat-belt effectiveness depends directly on their correct use; in most states, despite legislation, only about two thirds of the population use seat belts. (3) Groups with lower use of seat belts are often young drivers, drinking drivers, and those who disobey other traffic laws. (4)