An important element in the design of roadside safety improvements is the test criteria used to evaluate hardware systems. Although under continuous review, the underlying philosophies in design criteria have apparently not changed dramatically since the 1970's. To provide some background on roadside safety test criteria and the relation to current field studies, a short review of the U.S. and European information was conducted. Three criteria were found that may restrict the achievable limits of roadside safety hardware: (1) a conservative approach to roadside design has been employed to account for uncertainty in crash conditions and ensure structurally viable systems; (2) vague requirements for the post-impact vehicle behaviour also appear to limit the level of safety that can be achieved with the current approach; and (3) Use of simplified occupant injury criteria may introduce additional conservatism to the design process and also limits the linkage between field studies and controlled crash tests. Recommendations for improvements to current methods are presented based on some of the observed collision trends. (A)
Abstract