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Head-to-knee interaction of the right front passenger dummy can occur in some 30-35 MPH crash barrier tests. The biofidelity and significance of these interactions as related to predicting human response was addressed in this study. In a series of laboratory experiments an instrumented headform was dropped on the dummy knee to simulate the barrier interactions. These test results were then related to the human by dropping the same headform on the cadaver leg. The instrumented headform was dropped from three heights to impact the Part 572 dummy knee at three velocities. Two impact sites and two impact angles were used. These test parameters bracketed the barrier conditions. Measurements from headform accelerometers permitted calculation of HIC value for comparison to barrier values. Comparable experiments were subsequently performed with three unembalmed cadaver subjects using the same headform and test procedures.

Knee bolsters on the lower instrument panel have been designed to control occupant kinematics during sudden deceleration. However, a wide variability in car occupant anthropometry and choice of seating posture indicates that lower-extremity contacts with the impingement bolster could predominantly load the flexed leg through the knee (acting through the femur) or through the tibia (acting through the knee joint). Potential injuries associated with these types of primary loading may vary significantly and an understanding of potential trauma mechanisms is important for proper occupant restraint.