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Low-mass vehicles (LMV) are characterized by a total mass of 500 - 600 kg and an overall length of 2.5 m - 3.0 m. In order to provide sufficient transportation capacity, they should be relatively wide (1.7 m) and high (1.6 m). Occupant safety associated with such vehicles poses unique problems. According to published accident and injury statistics, a negative correlation exists between vehicle mass and injury severity in car-to-car crashes. In part, this finding can be attributed to the fact that small vehicles today are designed according to conventional design strategies involving however only a small frontal deformation zone and minimal side protection. For a LMV which is even smaller and lighter than present “small” cars another solution has to be found. A number of frontal and side impacts staged by our group with the aid of a LMV test device along with a mathematical model analysis indicate that a Rigid-Belt Body (RBB) represents a concept which is well suited for LMVs.

It is well established that properly worn seat belts reduce the incidence of severe neck injuries in car accidents in general. However, for certain configurations of nearside lateral collisions this statement has not been substantiated beyond any doubt by the published field accident data. In order to further evaluate this question, the samples of two accident investigation programs, one from Switzerland and one from France, were combined and analysed accordingly. They contain a total of 810 wearers of three point belts OAIS* > = 2, 98 of which are cases of lateral nearside impacts. In 10 % (N = 10) of this subset neck injuries of AIS >=1 were registered. 7 of those 10 cases were of a degree of AIS>=2 whereby 2 of them could directly be attributed to an immediate belt contact.