Effect of Seat Belt Positions on Passenger Injury during Low Speed Front-end Impact

The objective of this study was to determine the risk of injury to the driver during frontal impact in amateur car races. In this study, FSAE (Formula SAE, organized by Society of Automotive Engineers) was focused as car races for amateurs. In FSAE rules, the IA (impact attenuator) has to fulfill the requirements under frontal impact condition and the driver has to be held with appropriate safety harness positions. This study examined the driver's risk of injury with regard to head and chest acceleration, neck and femur loads, and chest displacement using MADYMO. Injury criteria were presented and compared for various impact pulse shapes (G-t curve) and belt restraint situations. As a result, the risk of serious injury is low in the impact conditions of FSAE rules.