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The severity of an impact in terms of the acceleration in the occupant compartment is dependent not only on the change in vehicle velocity, but also the time for the change in velocity to occur. These depend on the geometry and stiffness of both the striking vehicle and struck object. In narrow-object frontal impacts, impact location can affect the shape and duration of the acceleration pulse that reaches the occupant compartment. In this paper, the frontal impact response of a full-sized pickup to 10 mile per hour and 20 mile per hour pole impacts at the centerline and at a location nearer the frame rails is compared using the acceleration pulse shape, the average acceleration in the occupant compartment, and the residual crush. A bilinear curve relating impact speed to residual crush is developed.

In this study, tests were performed with modified tires at the various front and rear positions on seventeen different vehicles to determine the effect of a full tire tread belt separation on a vehicle at highway speeds. The driver's steering and braking inputs were measured along with the vehicle responses during the event. The results show that the forces of a full tread belt separation generally do not force a vehicle out of a driver's control and that only small steering corrections are required to remain in the original lane of travel during the tread belt separation event. Additionally, forces due to the separating tires do not result in violent hop or tramp suspension responses during the separation event.