Vehicle and Occupant Kinematics in Low-Speed Override/Underride Collisions

In past years, considerable research has been devoted to occupant response in a variety of low-velocity, bumper-to-bumper impacts. In many crashes, however, the involvement of a braking vehicle or a higher ground clearance vehicle results in an override/underride type crash. The amount of vehicle damage can be significantly greater during such an impact because of the involvement of non-structural components above and below the bumper systems of the involved vehicles.

Ten tests were conducted using five target vehicles, each occupied by an instrumented female driver. Each vehicle was tested in a bumper-to-bumper impact and then an override/underride configuration in increasing severity. An independent body shop estimator was employed to document the damage and prepare repair estimates for each test. In each test the vehicle and occupant accelerations were monitored. A comparison of these data collected is presented herein to provide additional insights into override/underride crashes versus bumper-to-bumper impacts.