A three year collaborative research program was funded recently by the Australian Research Council in conjunction with the Federal Office of Road Safety, Holden and the Australian Automobile Association to develop a procedure to optimise vehicle design for minimal Harm. The research will be undertaken at the Monash University Accident Research Centre and involves research effort by the collaborative partners and its associate investigators. Four main study tasks are involved namely (i), collection of data on a sample of real world crashes and mass data analysis, (ii), establishment of up-dated Australian injury costs and Harm associated with vehicle occupants, (iii), development of Injury Assessment Functions (IAFs) relating crash test criteria with probability of injury, and (iv), construction of a computer package to optimise design. The project commenced in January 1998 and work has progressed on a number of the research tasks. It is expected to be of significant benefit to all international car manufacturers in their attempts to improve side impact protection. In addition, the Federal Office of Road Safety will be able to use these findings to help in the development of a single enhanced side impact standard world-wide. (A)
Abstract