Abstract
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is conducting a research program addressing pedestrian upper body injuries inflicted by vehicle front ends. The objective of the program is to determine and demonstrate the feasibility of significantly reducing injury severity through structural modifications. Analysis of US pedestrian accident data indicated that head and thorax impacts against vehicle faces, hoods, and fenders are of major importance, and that children are over- represented as accident victims. Accordingly, the research program consists of two main activities, which are briefly outlined in this paper.