LIMITATIONS OF THE BARRIER EQUIVALENT SPEED CONCEPT FOR ESTIMATION OF CRASH SEVERITY

The study demonstrates the extent to which the crash severity experinced by a passenger may differ in mathematically simulated car-to-car head-on crashes in which the vehicle occupied by him has the same "barrier equivalent speed" estimated solely on the basis of frontal crush of that vehicle and to show why the differences occur. Serial applications of a car-to-car crash model and a vehicle occupant dynamics model show that simulated collisions which produce equal vehicle front end crush may produce significantly different vehicle decelerations which, in turn, cause crash environments of different severity for the vehicle occupants. Field crashes having a certain "barrier equivalent speed" estimated on the basis of permanent vehicle deformation alone cannot be assumed to be of equal severity to a fixed barrier crash at this speed; some may be more severe and some may be less severe. The essential limitation of a "barrier equivalent speed" estimate is that, although it applies to vehicle collision damage, it is not directly related to the collision severity experienced by the vehicle occupants. /HSRI/

• Corporate Authors:

  General Motors Corporation

  Warren, MI  United States  48090
• Authors:
  • Danforth, J P
  • Lin, K H
• Publication Date: 0

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 26 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Barriers (Roads); Crash injury research; Crash severity; Crashes; Research; Speed
• Uncontrolled Terms: Barriers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00144232
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Report/Paper Numbers: Rept. No. GMR-1953
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 15 1977 12:00AM