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This paper presents results from a series of tests that address safety related issues concerning vehicle glazing. These issues include occupant containment, head impact injury, neck injuries, fracture modes, and laceration. Component-level and full vehicle crash tests of standard and polycarbonate non-windshield glazing were conducted. The tests were conducted as part of a study to demonstrate that there is no decrease in the safety benefits offered by polycarbonate glazing when compared to current glazing. Readers of this paper will gain a broader understanding of the tests that are typically conducted for glazing evaluation from a safety perspective, as well as gain insight into the meaning of the results.

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive research program addressing the safety issues pertaining to using Polycarbonate glazing for non-windshield vehicle glazing. A series of crash test procedures were used to evaluate the Polycarbonate glazing alternative. The test procedures utilized included High Speed Lateral Impact (HSLI), Narrow Object Intrusion or Pole Impact, Dynamic Rollover, and Inverted Vehicle Drop tests. It should be noted that component-level dynamic impact testing of a variety of Polycarbonate designs was previously conducted as part of this ongoing research program [1]. This testing included 40 lb guided headform and Free Motion Headform (FMH) testing. In regard to vehicle glazing, there are a number of important occupant safety issues. These include occupant containment, injury due to occupant impact with glazing, and laceration. Throughout the project, emphasis was placed on the careful monitoring of the test results with regard to these three issues.

The primary objective of this study was to compare the safety performance of two different plastic glazing materials to that of tempered glass in a moveable window application. A headform impact test method was used to determine if the use of plastic glazing materials offers the potential to reduce the risk of head injuries and fatalities inside impact collisions. These tests were conducted to simulate the dummy head velocity as it penetrates the side glazing area during Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214 full-scale, side impact, crash testing. The two plastic glazing materials tested were an abrasion resistant (AR) coated copolymer of methyl methacrylate and N-methyl glutarimide (i.e., acrylic-imide or PMMI), and a polycarbonate (PC). Each of these window materials was evaluated in the driver's door of a Pontiac 6000 vehicle.