This paper summarizes the available damage and injury data for passenger vehicle side impacts in order to compare the experience of passenger cars with that of other light passenger vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) specified a dynamic side impact test for passenger cars in 1990. The NHTSA has proposed extending this test to other light passenger vehicles. The test involves an instrumented test dummy in a vehicle that is struck in the side by a moving barrier that simulates a striking passenger car. The test includes a requirement that the doors of the side-impacted vehicle remain closed during the test. However, there are differences between the crash circumstances surrounding passenger car occupant fatalities and fatalities in other light passenger vehicles that need to be considered in extending the test requirement to other light passenger vehicles. For example, a larger fraction of light truck occupant fatalities were completely or partially ejected from their vehicles during the crash. A smaller fraction were occupants of vehicles struck in the side by another light passenger vehicle, compared to passenger car occupant fatalities. (A)
Abstract