Remaining Injury Risk and Force Deflection Characteristics of Vehicles Front in Real World Accidents

Although many occupant protective measures, particularly for frontal impacts, have been and will continue to be developed over the years, a new investigation has indicated some surprising relationships. There has, for example, through test conditions of a fixed speed impact, been a trend in recent years for a “maximized” force-deflection curve of the vehicle front-end. It can now be shown that, contrary to the previous school of thought, this trend brings about a decrease in safety for real-world accidents.

Appropriate test configurations are needed to ensure that safety developments for future vehicle generations are not steered in the wrong direction. One vehicle manufacturer's internal tests provide development to meet this need.