Rear seat safety in frontal to side impacts: focusing on occupants from 3yrs to small adults

ABSTRACTThis study presents a broad comprehensiveresearch effort that combines expertise fromindustry and academia and uses variousmethodologies with applied research directedtowards countermeasures. The project includesreal world crash data analysis, real world drivingstudies and crash testing and simulations,aiming at enhancing the safety of forward facingchild occupants (aged 3y to small adults) in therear seat during frontal to side impacts.The real world crash data analyses of properlyrestrained children originate from European aswell as US data. Frontal and side impact crashtests are analyzed using different sizes of crashtest dummies in different sitting postures. Sideimpact parameter studies using FE-models arerun. The sitting posture and behavior of 12children are monitored while riding in the rearseat. Also, the body kinematics and belt positionduring actual braking and turning maneuvers arestudied for 16 rear seat child occupants and forvarious child dummies.Real world crash data indicates that several ofthe injured children in frontal impacts, despitebeing properly restrained, impacted the vehicleinterior structure with their head/face resulting inserious injury. This was attributed to obliquecrashes, pre-crash vehicle maneuvers or highcrash severity. Crash tests confirm theimportance of proper initial belt-fit for bestprotection. The crash tests also highlight thedifficulty in obtaining the real world kinematicsand head impact locations using existing crashtest dummies and test procedures. The sideimpact parameter studies indicate that thevehicle’s occupant protection systems, such asairbags and seat belt pretensioners, play animportant role in protecting children as well.The results from the on-road driving studiesillustrate the variation of sitting postures duringriding in the rear seat giving valuable input to theeffects of the restraint systems and to howrepresentative the standardized dummy seatingpositioning procedures are. The results from themaneuver driving studies illustrate theimportance of understanding the kinematics of achild relative to the seat belt in a real worldmaneuver situation.Real world safety of rear seat occupants,especially children, involves evaluation ofprotection beyond standard crash testingscenarios in frontal and side impact conditions.This project explores the complete context ofrear seat protection in impact situations rangingfrom front to side and directions in betweenhighlighting the importance of pre-crash postureand behavior.This research project at SAFER (Vehicle andTraffic Safety Centre at Chalmers), whereresearchers from the industry and universitiescooperate with the aim to further improve safetyfor children (from 3y) to small adults in the rearseat, speeds up the process to safetyimplementation due to the interaction betweenacademic and industrial researchers.