This paper generally reviews the following: (1) traffic accidents in India and Sweden; and (2) vehicle-pedestrian accidents in New Delhi and Gothenburg, with the main emphasis on the bus-pedestrian impact situation. Buses were involved in 193 (32%) out of a total of 602 pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in Delhi in the year 1985. This indicates the importance of minimizing injuries due to bus impacts with this class of road user. A preliminary investigation was done to examine the possibilities of designing a safer bus front by using a mathematical model of the bus-pedestrian impact. A simulation of the impact has been performed by using the MAthematical DYnamic MOdel (MADYMO) three-dimensional program. The aim was to evaluate the effect of a protective structure, in the form of padding on the bus front structures in bus-pedestrian accidents. The results from the computer simulation indicate that it should be possible to design safer bus fronts which will reduce the severity of injuries at impact speeds below 30 km/h.
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