This paper provides an update of NHTSA's research activities in vehicle compatibility and aggressivity. This paper presents newly initiated efforts underway to develop test assessment methodologies intended to evaluate vehicle compatibility. The rigid barrier load cell data collected from 18 years of the agency's New Car Assessment Program testing are reviewed to evaluate potential test measures that may be used to evaluate a vehicle's compatibility in vehicle-to-vehicle crashes. These parameters are then evaluated using a series of vehicle-to-vehicle and moving deformable barrier (MDB)-to-vehicle tests. In these tests, the face of the MDB has been instrumented with an array of load cells to compute test measures. This study is part of NHTSA's ongoing compatibility research program and is being co-ordinated with the IHRA compatibility group. (A)
Abstract