Passenger Car Seating Loads; A Human Factors Engineering Problem

In operating a motor vehicle, human beings exert a variety of different forces on the seats of their vehicles. The magnitude and nature (i.e., static or cyclic) of these forces are dependent on human factors (e.g., physical characteristics of seat occupants (height, weight, occupant behavior, etc.), vehicle factors (e.g., seat design and overall vehicle seating package) and combinations of human and vehicle factors (i.e., the manner in which the vehicle is used). The purpose of this paper is to discuss methods that can be used to measure the forces that occupants exert on seats for a number of operating conditions and special events.