In Great Britain in 1974, approximately 40 per cent of all fatal road casualties were pedestrians. Accidents between cars and pedestrians accounted for approximately 70 per cent of all these casualties and this paper considers features of car front-end design which may reduce the frequency and severity of injury. Results of car impact tests on pedestrian dummies representing adults and 6 year old children are given, and these data related to information obtained from accident investigations. It is concluded that wherever possible, a pedestrian should be projected to come to rest on the bonnet rather than knocked down in front of the car or thrown over the bonnet or roof to the ground. A low mounted energy absorbing bumper and an energy absorbing bonnet leading edge with crush characteristics matched to appropriate human tolerance levels, could accelerate a pedestrian to the velocity of the impacting car with less injury from the initial impact than occurring with existing designs. Fatal and other head injuries from vehicle impact may be reduced by ensuring head impact with the bonnet rather than the windscreen surround. Preliminary design parameters for providing these features are discussed. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting