Comparison of Impact Configurations for the Development of a Crash-Test Standard in Motorcycle Safety Using a Human Model

The problem of injuries to motorcyclists caused by impacts on roadside barriers has been a research issue for more than two decades. Within the European research project APROSYS SP4 “Motorcycle Accidents”, a European crash test standard for the assessment of impact performance of roadside barriers with respect to injury risks will be proposed. The focus of this work is on the sliding impact after the separation of the rider from the powered two-wheeler. The human model for crash simulation HUMOS2 was applied to gain insights into injury mechanisms. It was found that an impact configuration specifically aiming at the loading of the thorax does not need to be included in a test standard.

As there are no crash-test dummies available that have specifically been developed and validated for this application, the use of a numerical human body model is the only way to gain insight into the described problem without conducting PMHS tests.