Comparison of Pedestrian Subsystem Safety Tests Using Impactors and Full-Scale Dummy Tests 2002-01-1021

Evaluation of car front aggressiveness in car-pedestrian accidents is typically done using sub-system tests. Three such tests have been proposed by EEVC/WG17: 1) the legform to bumper test, 2) the upper legform to bonnet leading edge test, and 3) the headform to bonnet top test. These tests were developed to evaluate performance of the car structure at car to pedestrian impact speed of 11.1 m/s (40 km/h), and each of them has its own impactor, impact conditions and injury criteria. However, it has not been determined yet to what extent the EEVC sub-system tests represent real-world pedestrian accidents.

Therefore, there are two objectives of this study. First, to clarify the differences between the injury-related responses of full-scale pedestrian dummy and results of sub-system tests obtained under impact conditions simulating car-to-pedestrian accidents. Second, to propose modifications of current sub-system test methods.

In the present study, the Polar (Honda R&D) dummy was used. This dummy was selected as it has been reported in the literature that it well represents motion of postmortem human subjects in lateral impacts. We impacted the dummy by one passenger car and one sport utility vehicle at a speed of 11.1 m/s. The results of the experiments using the Polar dummy were compared with those obtained using sub-system tests conducted according to EEVC/WG17 procedures. In this comparison, we analyzed the variables characterizing conditions of impact to the head (i.e., impact angle and impact speed of the head) and thigh/pelvis (bonnet edge deformation) as well as those describing the injury risk (i.e., knee shearing displacement, knee bending angle and tibia acceleration).

The present results suggest that the EEVC/WG17 headform and upper legform test procedures may overestimate severity of impact between car front and pedestrian head and pelvis, especially for sport utility vehicles. Furthermore, the current EEVC/WG17 legform impactor may not be suitable for evaluation of the aggressiveness of a high-bumper car front.