Motor vehicle manufacturers association subsystem and full vehicle side impact test procedure development program.

In 1982, the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association (MUMA) in the United States, undertook a comprehensive research programme to develop and evaluate potential improvements in side impact protection. A review of the accident data show that the upper torso to the side surface of the vehicle is the predominate injury category for serious to fatal injuries. This report summarizes the results of the full vehicle tests and 12 subsystem tests, compares the variability of each, their ability to discriminate potential countermeasures and provides estimates of repeatability and reproducibility of the respective test devices.