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The program objective was to develop an effective inflatable occupant restraint system for unbelted rear seat occupants of motor vehicles. An extensive series of developmental and evaluative impact sled tests included variations in occupant position and size using a standard-size American sedan as the basic vehicle for incorporation of the passive restraint. The restraint system includes a crushable honeycomb knee bar to limit femur loads and to control the head and upper torso trajectory of the unbelted occupants. At speeds below which the airbag deploys, protection is provided by energy-absorbing padding on a head bar as well as on the knee bar. For high-speed crashes, the airbag deploys, and the bag loads are carried out through the head bar and the knee bar support plate. Nondeployed protection is provided for crash speed pulses up to approximately 20 mph in order to satisfy multiple impact considerations, and nonvented side bags are used for oblique impact protection.

An air bag on collapsible dashpanel (ABCD) passive restraint system concept was researched, developed, and demonstrated at Calspan. Elements of the ABCD system are: a collapsible dashpanel which is positioned within steering wheel distance or greater of the occupant to absorb the primary portion of the kinetic energy of the occupant-vehicle interaction, and two small air bags which deploy at speeds above 20 MPH, to distribute chest contact forces and control head motions. A crushable kneebar is used for lower torso restraint. The Calspan 3-D Crash Victim Simulation was used as a preliminary design tool in developing the concept. Component tests of the collapsible dashpanel were conducted on the Calspan linear accelerator impactor. Sled tests were conducted to refine the restraint system design and to evaluate the performance of the restraint system with respect to accepted injury criteria.

An experimental program is discussed wherein fresh, unembalmed cadavers and anthropomorphic test dummies (ATD's) were exposed to identical crash situations. Results include tests conducted on the Calspan HYGE acceleration sled and full-scale car crash tests using belt restraint systems and air bag systems. Cadaver test data obtained include head and chest triaxial accelerations from externally mounted sensors, chest deflections and belt loads. Cadaver test data also include arterial and lung pressure measurements as well as X-ray and gross necropsy evaluations. Dummy test data include normally measured internal triaxial head and chest accelerations. High-speed movie coverage produced cadaver and dummy kinematic results. AT THIS TIME there exists some question in the automotive safety community as to the proper role cadaver experiments can play in the design, development and evaluation of safety related vehicle systems.