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Recent legislative initiatives in West Germany and other European countries are leading to more stringent automobile exhaust emission standards. A review of the emission inventory on a global and West German basis and other factors, such as acid rain and forest damage, indicate that the contribution of automobile exhaust to the emission problem may be less than the European public assumes. As an interim step while new standards are being considered, the West German government is promoting the purchase of low-pollution vehicles, through a vehicle tax reduction program.

For three given deceleration pulses of defined shape and peak magnitude, total velocity change was varied from 20 to 40 mph by changing duration of the pulse. Several restraint systems were compared, for these combinations of speed change and pulse shape, using head injury criterion, chest severity index, and femur loads to evaluate potential injury. Limit curves for each restraint are developed in terms of velocity change and peak deceleration, and the significance of these curves is discussed.