The investigations into the effectiveness of three-point seat-belts showed that with the usual belt system and the usual anchorage positions the risk of injury in oblique impacts is sometimes higher than in the case of head-on collisions. Supplementing the restraint systems with additional elements such as shoulder and pelvis supports and a pre-load device results in a significant improvement in the effectiveness of the seat belt in oblique impacts without compromising the protective effect for head-on collisions. It can therefore be concluded that the introduction of the preload device, which is also highly effective in head-on collisions, should be promoted (particularly in view of the limited space available in smaller vehicles) and that design improvements should be recommended that guarantee the effectiveness of the seat/belt combination for oblique impacts as well as head-on collisions.(a) for the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD abstract no 251225.
Samenvatting