Vehicle and Occupant Motion in Far-Side Impacts

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 214 focuses on protecting the near-side (i.e., seated on the struck side of the vehicle) occupants of vehicles in side impact crashes. However, recent research has indicated that far-side occupants in side impact collisions are also vulnerable. In this study, two full-scale crash tests were conducted in order to determine the kinematics of a far-side occupant in a side-impact crash. The effects of impact position, rotation and seat belt performance were also analyzed. Mathematical dynamic modeling using data from the crash tests was employed to simulate the impacts for occupant kinematics. The results show that the impact point affects the magnitude and direction of yaw during the collision. For a passenger side impact point behind the center of gravity, the vehicle will rotate positively about the vertical axis, while a passenger side impact point in front of the center of gravity will cause the vehicle to rotate negatively. This rotation causes the occupant to move in different directions relative to the vehicle motion. Far-side occupants also were found to be vulnerable to many types of injuries, including head and upper extremity injury, depending on whether the vehicle is rotating positively or negatively around the vertical axis. Shoulder belts were ineffective in preventing injuries for far-side occupants in side impacts.