Eevc has developed a subsystem test procedure for pedestrian assessment. This procedure is the basis of a draft proposal for a european parliament and council directive relating to the protection of pedestrians and other road users in the event of a collision with a motor vehicle and amending directive 70/156/eec. This procedure proposes to use three independent subsystem tests to assess the protection against leg and head injuries. The proposal is discussed taking into account the experience gained in the validation programme. This analysis shows that before the integration of this work into a directive it is necessary to perform additional work. This concerns especially the leg form test for which the design of deformable elements should be optimized, and the reduction to 35 km/h of the impact speed should be considered. The bonnet leading edge test is more questionable, and the potential benefits of such a test are not demonstrated. This test should be at least validated through a specific programme, and the possibility of cancelling this test should be considered. Cost benefit studies give very different results, but three out of the four indicate a high benefit of the procedure. (A)
Abstract