This paper examines the safety performance of United States passenger vehicles in occupant head impacts with the upper interior. The upper interior is defined as the A/B/C-pillars, the side roof rails, the front header rail, and the rear header rail. The results of a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fleet characterization effort involving over 220 free motion headform (FMH) impact tests on fourteen passenger cars, light trucks, and minivans are presented. The effects of variations in impact angle, impact location, and contact velocity on FMH responses are explored in this test series. Localized hard spots and protrusions (for instance motorized seat belt tracks) were identified and tested to determine design-specific head impact hazards. The conclusions are that: (1) head impact injury potential is a strong function of vehicle design; and (2) upper interior head impact protection varies widely from vehicle to vehicle.
Samenvatting