"Second Collision", a collision between cargo carried inside the vehicle occupants compartment and vehicle occupants or vehicle interior structures, is not well documented or widely publicised. There are no reliable statistics to quantify magnitude of the problem, although several cases of serious injuries and deaths caused by the unrestrained cargo are reported by the public media every year. This paper provides the latest research results from Milford Testing Laboratories after ten years of continuous development of cargo restraining systems. The paper also provides current status of national standards covering this problem and a special analysis of a comparison between two alternatives for better cargo retention: stronger vehicle seats or installation of a cargo barrier. (A)
Abstract