Challenges in the Development of a Regulatory Test Procedure for Neck Protection in Rear Impacts: Status of the EEVC WG20 and WG12 Joint Activity

A new European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC) Working Group, WG20, was given the task to develop test procedures for rear end collisions, with a prime focus on neck injury reduction (whiplash). The work is carried out in collaboration with the EEVC WG12 (Advanced Anthropometry Adult Crash Dummies). WG20 is responsible for the definition of the test conditions and the overall coordination of this activity. WG12 is responsible for the selection of an appropriate crash test dummy and identification of biomechanically based injury criteria with known injury risk functions. WG20 carried out a review of field accident data, clinical data, available sled test methods, biomechanical research on injury causation and human subject dynamic response, proposed injury criteria, available impact dummies, and instrumentation and dummy positioning methods. The findings of the WG20 review provide the basis for the future work of the group and are summarized here. WG20 has a work program to develop and validate a test procedure to assess the geometry of head restraints as a first stage in their approach to whiplash injury mitigation. In the longer term a sled-based dynamic assessment of injury risk or seat performance will be developed and validated. WG12 has defined draft biofidelity requirements for rear impact crash test dummies and will evaluate the available rear impact dummies against these requirements once they are finalized. This paper summarizes the chosen biofidelity requirements and the criteria by which they were selected. It also outlines the further work program of the group to evaluate and validate biomechanically based injury criteria for rear impact crash testing.