A considerable number of victims in the traffic are originated by some kind of side collisions. Around 30% of the fatalities occur due to these kinds of accidents [1][2].
Due to this fact, the development of the occupant protection for this kind of load cases becomes indispensable. For this, different kinds of crash tests were and are being developed around the world according to the characteristics inherent of each market. Barrier weight, impact angle, barrier type (pole or movable deformable barrier) and dummy types are some of the variations observed.
The severity of injuries caused by side crashes is very high as the occupant is very close to the impacting object and the crush space is almost nothing when compared to frontal impact. To decrease these injuries the following features of the vehicle must be developed: structure (high strength materials, reinforcements, etc), restraint system (side airbags, curtain airbags, pre-tensioners, seats, etc), design and package (distances between occupant and interior parts, flat surfaces, etc), high speed sensing systems (accelerometers, pressure sensors, etc).
This paper will present a comparative analysis between these different types of tests and demonstrate future tendencies and the challenges for the Brazilian market and the technologies available during the vehicle development capable of making the products safer when it comes to side impact collisions.