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Vehicle safety devices, similar to new pharmaceuticals and medical devices, may be associated with injury risks as well as injury benefits. Available analytical methods from the public health, medical and vehicle safety fields are described. A literature review is provided that includes an overview of relevant principles of risk analysis, risk-benefit terminology, fields of application, types of risk-benefit analysis, methods of quantification, assumptions, data needs, treatment of uncertainties, and risk-benefit criteria. Several applicable quantification methods are further described, including Quality Adjusted Life-Years, Disability Adjusted Life-Years, and Normalized Injury-Fatality Costs. Data input sources are described, including accident sampling and analysis, and paired comparison test and simulation methods.

An updated evaluation of the effects on predicted injuries of an example crush protective device (CPD) proposed for application to All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) is described. As in previous evaluations, this involved extending and applying the test and analysis methods defined in ISO 13232 (2005) for motorcycle impacts, to evaluate the effects of the example CPD in a sample of simulated ATV overturn events. Updated modeling refinements included lowering the energy levels of the simulated overturn events; accounting for potential mechanical/ traumatic (compressive) asphyxia mechanisms; refining and calibrating the force-deflection characteristics of helmet, head, legs and soil so as to reduce potential over-prediction of head and leg injuries; and calibrating the simulation against aggregated injury distributions from actual accidents.