CRASH DUMMIES MADE MORE HUMAN

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released the final design and performance specifications for the new 6-year-old child crash dummy. The advanced 6-year-old child dummy is the first addition to the Hybrid III crash dummy family since the Hybrid III male dummy was adopted in June 1986. For several years researchers have been using an earlier model of the 6-year-old child dummy to evaluate child restraints and boosters, but that model was not able to measure the injuries that unbuckled or out-of-position children can suffer in those crashes in which air bags deploy. The new model must be certified for compliance testing to ensure that occupant protection systems, such as air bags, provide adequate safety. Because neck injuries are one of the main causes of child fatalities resulting from air bags, the design and specifications for the new dummy include a multisegmented and highly instrumented neck that better simulates human neck responses. The dummy also is equipped with new multiple sensing capabilities to assess injuries to the chest, lumbar spine, pelvis, and upper legs. To support assessment of injury potential for a range of occupant sizes, future Hybrid III family members will include a small female dummy, a 3-year-old child dummy, and a 12-month-old child restraint air bag interaction dummy. (Entire Article)

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• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Publication Date: 2000-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 35-36
• Serial:
  • TR News
  • Issue Number: 208
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0738-6826

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air bags; Child restraint systems; Children; Crash tests; Design; Dummies; Injuries; Leg; Neck; Pelvis; Specifications; Spinal column; Thorax
• Subject Areas: Design; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00797053
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-043 074
• Files: HSL, TRB, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 29 2000 12:00AM