Crash bar equipped off-road vehicles were tested according to the EEVC-WG 10 proposed subsystems test procedure to evaluate pedestrian protection for cars. The aim is to get a better understanding of the potential harm of crash bars to vulnerable road users. In the first test programme, four different crash bars were tested with the child headform impactor. The tests revealed that Head Injury Criterion (HIC) values in excess of 1000 (which is the proposed limit at 40 km/h) can already be attained at impact velocities as low as 20 km/h. In the second test programme, two different off-road vehicles with and without crash bars were tested with all EEVC-WG 10 impactors. As a result, the vehicles without crash bars did not fulfil the test requirements. Equipped with crash bars, they performed even worse with both the child headform impactor and the upper legform impactor. The loadings to the upper legform impactor were up to two times the value, the loadings to the child headform impactor up to six times the values of the cars without crash bars. In order to improve the protection of vulnerable road users, it is proposed to equip crash bars with deformable tubes, covering the hard supporting elements with impact attenuating material. A prototype bar, designed based on these proposals, is presented.
Abstract