Comparison of driver head positions: volunteers versus dummies

This paper describes a test to assess the postural comparability between the anthropometric dummy BioRID II, the head restraint measuring device HRMD, and humans of similar size. Volunteers were monitored while driving vehicles along a course which involved certain movements. Measurements were made of each volunteer's head relative to the head restraint. The driver's seat position and angles were also measured. It was found that seat back angles were more upright than those used for a dummy but the difference was not great. Seat adjustment meant that the dummy tended to sit lower in the seat than the human, making a difference to the position of the head restraint relative to the head. The study concluded that the seating positions of BioRID and HRMD were appropriate. For the covering abstract see ITRD E121180.