Influence of the Fronthood Length for the Safety of Pedestrians in Car Accidents and Demands to the Safety of Small Vehicles

City vehicles are, as a rule, small and light vehicles, built without a distinct fronthood. Within the framework of the study, the influences of the length of the vehicle fronthood on the injury severity of pedestrians' head is investigated from the Accident Research Unit Hannover¹. It must be assumed that vehicles with shorter fronthood lengths are mostly vehicles of the lower weight class and, with mostly long fronthoods ranks among curb weights above 1,000 kilos. The body height and the collision speed determine the throwing up distance and the occurance of head impacts. With short fronthood skull fractures occur more frequently. The above study reveals that with a short fronthood length an increase in head impact frequency to the windscreen occur. The injury severity is mainly influenced by the collision speed. With short fronthood lengths, an earlier occurance of serious injuries is already established in collision speeds of up to 30 km/h. Therefore it can be assumed that with an increase in the number of so called „city vehicles”, there will be a higher injury risk on the road for pedestrians. An increased injury risk will especially exist for persons with a body height above 170 cm. The study clearly shows that the established increased injury risk with short fronthoods is not based on the fronthood itself, but is more frequent even with pane impacts at lower speeds. Short fronthoods appear to be more sensible provided the adjoining pane region is modified. An integrated line of fronthood and windscreen pane with a pronounced inclination appear to be preferable.