Real world car crash investigations — A new approach

By actively researching real world crashes it has become apparent that existing methodologies for recording car deformation for severe injuries and fatalities are limiting our ability to effectively interpret the cause and effect relationship to the sustained injuries. This paper provides a historical view of crashworthiness development, explaining current data collection methods for analysing real world crashes before presenting a new approach in real world crash data collection. The new methodology aims to substantially improve our understanding and analysis of the cause and effect of injuries that are seen in everyday crashes. This improved understanding is achieved by examining the behaviour of the structural elements in the car body during a crash. A generic car model has been developed, consisting of beams, joints and plate areas, which is used during car inspection. The main goal is clear identification of the load path usage during the crash. It is identified that there is a need for better understanding of real world crashes so as to be able to provide the automotive industry with more accurate statistical information for different crash types. The authors note that accurate statistical information is required in order to guide future changes in the crashworthiness testing protocols to be effective in reducing the crash dynamics that are the cause of real world injuries. This paper singularly presents a new methodology, whilst referring to current ongoing work using this approach.

[1]  Richard Frampton,et al.  APPROPRIATE FRONTAL BARRIER TESTS FOR RESTRAINED OCCUPANTS , 1993 .

[2]  Charles J. Kahane,et al.  The New Car Assessment Program:Five Star Rating System and Vehicle Safety Performance Characteristics , 1995 .

[3]  Robert Zobel,et al.  DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA AND STANDARDS FOR VEHICLE COMPATIBILITY , 2001 .

[4]  Joseph M. Nolan,et al.  FRONTAL OFFSET DEFORMABLE BARRIER CRASH TESTING AND ITS EFFECT ON VEHICLE STIFFNESS , 2001 .

[5]  K.-H. Baumann,et al.  VEHICLE CRASHWORTHINESS AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN FRONTAL COLLISIONS. FRONTAL OFFSET CRASH TESTING FOR APPROX. 15 YEARS: RESULTS, EXPERIENCES AND CONSEQUENCES. SAE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS AND EXPOSITION, FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 2, 1990, DETROIT, MICHIGAN , 1990 .

[6]  C A Hobbs.  THE NEED FOR IMPROVED STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY IN FRONTAL CAR IMPACTS , 1991 .

[7]  Louis J. Brown,et al.  Characterization of CIREN , 2001 .

[8]  Mervyn Edwards,et al.  Compatibility requirements for cars in frontal and side impact , 1998 .

[9]  C A Hobbs,et al.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRONTAL OFFSET DEFORMABLE BARRIER TEST , 1994 .

[10]  J. Huibers,et al.  Current front stiffness of european vehicles with regard to compatibility , 2001 .

[11]  Dominique Cesari,et al.  Improvement of crash compatibility between cars , 1998 .

[12]  R Thomas Ross.  AN APPROACH TO THE STANDARDISATION OF ACCIDENT AND INJURY REGISTRATION SYSTEMS (STAIRS) IN EUROPE , 1998 .

[13]  Hans Norin,et al.  Severe Frontal Collisions with Partial Overlap - Significance, Test Methods and Car Design , 1993 .

[14]  Pete Thomas,et al.  THE METHODOLOGY OF IN-DEPTH STUDIES OF CAR CRASHES IN BRITAIN , 1985 .

[15]  Pete Thomas,et al.  Large and Small Cars in Real-World Crashes -Patterns of Use, Collision Types and Injury Outcomes , 1999 .

[16]  C A Hobbs.  UNITED KINGDOM - NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (UK-NCAP): FIFTEENTH INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE ON THE ENHANCED SAFETY OF VEHICLES, MELBOURNE , 1996 .

[17]  Dietmar Otte,et al.  THE ACCIDENT RESEARCH UNIT HANNOVER AS EXAMPLE FOR IMPORTANCE AND BENEFIT OF EXISTING IN DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS , 1994 .

[18]  Brian O'Neill,et al.  NEW VEHICLE CRASHWORTHINESS EVALUATIONS BY THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY , 1996 .

[19]  Patricia C. Dischinger,et al.  Trauma Center Based Crash Investigation Research: Methodologies and Applications , 1994 .

[20]  William T. Hollowell,et al.  The Crash Compatibility of Cars and Light Trucks , 2000 .

[21]  K.-H. Baumann,et al.  Frontal Offset Crash Testing for Approx. 15 Years: Results, Experiences and Consequences , 1990 .

[22]  L. Evans,et al.  Driver injury and fatality risk in two-car crashes versus mass ratio inferred using Newtonian mechanics. , 1994, Accident; analysis and prevention.