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In this paper a detailed analysis of a staged two-vehicle impact is conducted. The staged impact consisted of two moving vehicles impacting in a left front corner-to-right front corner configuration. Both vehicles were outfitted with an array of triaxial accelerometers. An Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) was located in the driver position in one of the test vehicles. High-speed film cameras were installed on the vehicle, documenting the test dummy motion during the impact. The impact and subsequent vehicle motions were documented with offboard real-time video and high-speed film cameras. The accelerometer data from both vehicles are analyzed. This analysis demonstrates the effects of yaw motion on the determination of Delta-V and on occupant kinematics. The notion of a Principal Direction of Force (PDOF) in a yawing vehicle is also discussed.

Concrete Median Barriers (CMB’s) are used extensively on the roadways of North America. They are most often used as permanent barriers on major freeways and highways and as temporary barriers in roadway construction zones. A drive along most stretches of roadway where CMB’s are in use will reveal multiple instances of automobile impact evidence. In this paper the characteristics of automobile impacts with CMB’s are analyzed. Specifically, the case of a yawing, side-slipping vehicle impact, where significant frontal engagement may occur, is considered. Typical damage patterns and residual crush profiles are reviewed as well as vehicle Delta-V, and Barrier Equivalent Velocity (BEV). Frictional energy losses, due to vehicle and CMB interaction, and their significance in the reconstruction of this type of collision are discussed. The vertical velocity component induced by the CMB in this type of impact is also examined.