In Europe pedestrian safety is a significant issue and has been researched in working groups and research projects. Among others this has resulted in European legislation related to pedestrian protection provided by passenger cars fronts. However in the Netherlands more bicyclists than pedestrians get killed in road traffic, which is a main concern of the Fietsersbond. Although it is currently investigated in APROSYS Sub Project 3 if pedestrians and cyclists have to be seen as separate groups of vulnerable road users, it is unknown if pedestrians protection legislation also has a significant benefit for cyclists. Hence, the Fietsersbond has requested TNO to perform an inventory study with the aim to: - make an investigation in pedal cyclist to car accidents using simple vehicle, bicycle and cyclist models, and - indicate possible measures to vehicles for improved bicyclist safety. The study has been performed using numerical simulations in the MADYMO simulation software. First multibody models were developed of passenger cars (small family, mid-sized family and SUV) and a bicycle. The models were used together with a released average male human model (as cyclist) in a baseline simulation representing a typical cyclist-vehicle impact where the cyclist is laterally impacted by a mid-sized passenger car with an initial velocity of 50 km/h. In addition a simulation study was performed varying both impact conditions and vehicle parameters. The analysis of the vehicle-bicycle impact event was done using the global cyclist kinematics and impact velocities for the relevant body parts. In addition, the head, chest, pelvis and lower leg accelerations and the HIC value were used as indication of the injury. Due to the conceptual nature and the limited level of validation of the models, the results were used to study global trends, instead of absolute, precise values. (Author/publisher)
Abstract