A DUMMY NECK FOR LOW SEVERITY REAR IMPACTS

Neck injury in car collisions is rapidly becoming one of the most aggravating traffic safety problems with serious implications for the society. From studies performed in European countries such as Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, but also in Canada and Japan, it is found that a very large proportion to traffic injuries to the neck are due to rear impacts. In order to reduce these injuries an increasing number of studies are performed to evaluate the effectiveness of head restraints. However, the current available crash test dummies are not biofidelic for low-severity rear impacts. Since 1995, THO has started the development of a Rear Impact Dummy. In this paper the kinematic performance requirements for a Rear Impact Dummy neck are defined, the Hybrid-III neck response is evaluated, a new neck is designed and, finally, this neck is evaluated using pendulum and sled experiments. This neck is the first step towards the development of a complete Rear Impact Dummy.