Considerable worldwide attention has been directed to offset test development because past testing practiccs did not adequately address the structural integrity of passenger compartments for partial engagement car-to-car crashes or collisions into fixed narrow objects. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Research and Development has been conducting offset car-to-car and moving deformable barrier testing since the early 1980's in order to develop an offset test procedure that characterizes the crash environment in which serious injuries are projected to occur in an all airbag fleet. This paper compares theoretical and actual results from car-to-car tests, the European test as used by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the NHTSA R&D test procedure using the moving deformable barrier.
Samenvatting