Component Leg Testing of Vehicle Front Structures

Current and proposed pedestrian test procedures in Europe and Japan evaluate lower extremity injury risk by using a projectile legform to impact the bumper of a stationary vehicle. Although there are no pedestrian regulations in North America, bumper design is affected in both the United States and Canada by regulations limiting damage in low-speed impact testing. The main objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate differences in instrumentation capability and kinematic response of two pedestrian legforms (FlexPLI 2004, TRL), and (2) determine if and to what extent vehicles designed to conform to North American bumper regulations are more aggressive toward pedestrians than similar vehicles designed to conform to European bumper impact requirements. The results indicated that none of the North American bumpers were able to achieve the level of pedestrian lower leg protection required by future European Union regulations. It was also found that both legforms have limitations in testing the North American bumpers. The bumpers damaged the FlexPLI legform in repeated tests and exceeded the measurement limits of the TRL legform.

• Record URL:
  http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-01/esv/esv19/05-0194-W.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Mallory, Ann
  • Stammen, Jason A
  • Legault, France
• Conference:
  • 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2005-6-6 to 2005-6-9
• Publication Date: 2005-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14p
• Monograph Title: Proceedings - 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV), Washington, D.C., June 6-9, 2005

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bumpers; Crash tests; Design; Injuries; Instrumentation; Kinematics; Leg; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Pedestrians; Protection; Regulations; Test procedures; Vehicle front end
• Uncontrolled Terms: Legforms
• Geographic Terms: Europe; North America
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Law; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01070906
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 05-0194
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 29 2007 3:18PM