Browse Topic: Accident reconstruction

Items (803)

Crash performance study on high-speed electric two wheeler battery enclosure

2025-28-0203To be published on 02/07/2025

The growth rate of Electric Vehicles (EVs) industry and the annual production rate have increased significantly over the years. This is due to the development of rechargeable electrical energy storage system (battery pack), which is the main power source for EVs. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) pack is predominantly used across all major vehicle category such as 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers and light commercial vehicle. LIB is one of the high energy-dense sources of volume. However, LIBs have a challenge to poses a risk of short circuits and battery pack explosions, when expose to an external damage. Controlled crash analysis is performed for various velocities ranging from 40 kmph to 70 kmph against an obstruction directly and at an offset from the wheel, so as to mimic the real-world crash of high-speed two-wheelers. The behaviour of the battery enclosure is examined through evaluating the structural integrity of the battery enclosure used in a realistic two-wheeler after crash at various

Venkatesan Sr, Aiyappan, Nelson, N Rino, HARIHARAN NAIR, ADARSH

Boosting Algorithms for the Accident Severity Classification

12-08-04-0030

10/17/2024

Background: Road accident severity estimation is a critical aspect of road safety analysis and traffic management. Accurate severity estimation contributes to the formulation of effective road safety policies. Knowledge of the potential consequences of certain behaviors or conditions can contribute to safer driving practices. Identifying patterns of high-severity accidents allows for targeted improvements in terms of overall road safety. Objective: This study focuses on analyzing road accidents by utilizing real data, i.e., US road accidents open database called “CRSS.” It employs advanced machine learning models such as boosting algorithms such as LGBM, XGBoost, and CatBoost to predict accident severity classification based on various parameters. The study also aims to contribute to road safety by providing predictive insights for stakeholders, functional safety engineering community, and policymakers using KABCO classification systems. The article includes sections covering

Babaev, Islam, Mozolin, Igor, Garikapati, Divya

Design, Modeling and Analysis of Roll Cage for SAE BAJA Vehicle

2024-28-0012

10/17/2024

This paper studies design parameters, selection of materials and structural analysis for an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) BAJA roll cage at the event site in any possible situation. SolidWorks 2022 was used for creating the prototype of the roll cage and then both static structural as well as dynamic crash analysis for the roll cage was done using Altair HyperWorks 2023 for various collisions like front, rear, side, rollover, torsional, front bump, rear bump, front roll over, side roll over and rear roll over. In addition to their corresponding deformation, Von Mises stresses were observed and a safety factor was calculated for these load cases which was found to be in the range of 1.5 to 3. Without reducing the roll cage’s strength, the roll cage designed for a four-wheel drive configuration is developed with driver comfort and safety in mind. Finding the optimal safety factor is the core objective of the analysis, as it ensures in any situation, the ATV’s roll cage will stay secure

L, Ravi Kumar, Sanjay P, Chiranjeev, T J, Pravin Chander, Moses J, Jebish, D, Parthesun, G, Sureshmani

Examination of Crash Injury Risk as a Function of Occupant Demographics

2023-22-0002

04/17/2024

The objectives of this study were to provide insights on how injury risk is influenced by occupant demographics such as sex, age, and size; and to quantify differences within the context of commonly-occurring real-world crashes. The analyses were confined to either single-event collisions or collisions that were judged to be well-defined based on the absence of any significant secondary impacts. These analyses, including both logistic regression and descriptive statistics, were conducted using the Crash Investigation Sampling System for calendar years 2017 to 2021. In the case of occupant sex, the findings agree with those of many recent investigations that have attempted to quantify the circumstances in which females show elevated rates of injury relative to their male counterparts given the same level bodily insult. This study, like others, provides evidence of certain female-specific injuries. The most problematic of these are AIS 2+ and AIS 3+ upper-extremity and lower-extremity

Dalmotas, Dainius, Chouinard, Aline, Comeau, Jean-Louis, German, Alan, Robbins, Glenn, Prasad, Priya

Inclusion of Tire Forces into Low-Speed Bumper-to-Bumper Crash Reconstruction Simulation Models

2024-01-2479

04/09/2024

Reconstruction of inline crashes between vehicles with a low closing speed, so-called “low speed” crashes, continues to be a class of vehicle collisions that reconstructionists require specific methods to handle. In general, these collisions tend to be difficult to reconstruct due primarily to the lack of, or limited amount of, physical evidence available after the crash. Traditional reconstruction methods such as impulse-momentum (non-residual damage based) and CRASH3 (residual damage based) both are formulated without considering tire forces of the vehicles. These forces can be important in this class of collisions. Additionally, the CRASH3 method depends on the use of stiffness coefficients for the vehicles obtained from high-speed crash tests. The question of the applicability of these (high-speed) stiffness coefficients to collisions producing significantly less deformation than experimental crashes on which they are generated, raises questions of the applicability. An alternative

Brach, Matthew, Stegemann, Jacob, Manuel, Emmanuel Jay, Civitanova, Nicholas

Research on Occupant Injury Prediction Method of Vehicle Emergency Call System Based on Machine Learning

2024-01-2010

04/09/2024

The on-board emergency call system with accurate occupant injury prediction can help rescuers deliver more targeted traffic accident rescue and save more lives. We use machine learning methods to establish, train, and validate a number of classification models that can predict occupant injuries (by determining whether the MAIS (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale) level is greater than 2) based on crash data, and ranked the correlation of some factors affecting vehicle occupant injury levels in accidents. The optimal model was selected by the model prediction accuracy, and the Grid Search method was used to optimize the hyper-parameters for the model. The model is based on 2799 two-vehicle collision accident data from NHTSA CISS (The Crash Investigation Sampling System of NHTSA) traffic accident database.The results show that the model achieves high-precision prediction of occupant injury MAIS level (recall rate 0.8718, AUC(Area under Curve) 0.8579) without excluding vehicle model, and

Huida, Zhang, Liu, Yu, Rui, Yang, Wu, Xiaofan, Fan, Tiqiang, Wan, Xinming

Study on a Method for Reconstructing Pre-Crash Situations Using Data of an Event Data Recorder and a Dashboard Camera

2024-01-2891

04/09/2024

When investigating traffic accidents, it is important to determine the causes. To do so, it is necessary to reconstruct the accident situation accurately and in detail using objective and diverse information. We propose a method for reconstructing the accident situation (“reconstruction method”) which consists of rebuilding the situation immediately before the collision (“pre-crash situation”) using data collected during that time by an event data recorder (EDR) and a dashboard camera (DBC) onboard one or both of the vehicles involved. First, the vehicle’s traveling trajectory was integrally calculated using the vehicle speed and yaw rate recorded by the EDR, each point along the trajectory being linked to the EDR data. After being combined with the DBC’s video data, the trajectory was projected onto the road surface around the accident site, which allowed us not only to display on a single road map the vehicle’s traveling trajectory, but also to provide, on each point along the

Matsumura, Hideki, Sugiyama, Motoki, IWATA, Takekazu

Study of Indian Road Traffic Accident Characteristics Using Clustering Analysis

2024-01-2754

04/09/2024

In 2021, 412,432 road accidents were reported in India, resulting in 153,972 deaths and 384,448 injuries. India has the highest number of road fatalities, accounting for 11% of the global road fatalities. Therefore, it is important to explore the underlying causes of accidents on Indian roads. The objective of this study is to identify the factors inherent in accidents in India using clustering analysis based on self-organizing maps (SOM). It also attempts to recommend some countermeasures based on the identified factors. The study used Indian accident data collected by members of ICAT-ADAC (International Centre for Automotive Technology - Accident Data Analysis Centre) under the ICAT-RNTBCI joint project approved by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. 210 cases were collected from the National Highway between Jaipur and Gurgaon and 239 cases from urban and semi-urban roads around Chennai were used for the analysis. Based on this study, the following results were

Vimalathithan, Kulothungan, Rao K M, Pranesh, Vallabhaneni, Pratapnaidu, Selvarathinam, Vivekraj, Manoharan, Jeyabharath, Pal, Chinmoy, Padhy, Sitikantha, Joshi, Madhusudan

Validation of the PC-Crash Single-Track Vehicle Driver Model for Simulating Motorcycle Motion

2024-01-2475

04/09/2024

This paper validates the single-track vehicle driver model available in PC-Crash simulation software. The model is tested, and its limitations are described. The introduction of this model eliminated prior limitations that PC-Crash had for simulating motorcycle motion. Within PC-Crash, a user-defined path can be established for a motorcycle, and the software will generate motion consistent with the user-defined path (within the limits of friction and stability) and calculate the motorcycle lean (roll) generated by following that path at the prescribed speed, braking, or acceleration levels. In this study, the model was first examined for a simple scenario in which a motorcycle traversed a pre-defined curve at several speeds. This resulted in the conclusion that the single-track driver model in PC-Crash yielded motorcycle lean angles consistent with the standard, simple lean angle formula widely available in the literature. The PC-Crash calculations did not account for the width of the

Palmer, Jacob, Rose, Nathan A., Smith, Connor, Walter, Kevin, Hashemian, Alireza

A Method for Calculating Frontal A and B Stiffness Coefficients from NCAP Barrier Crash Tests Accounting for Bumper Cover Air Gap

2024-01-2473

04/09/2024

A and B stiffness coefficients to model the frontal stiffness of vehicles is a commonly used and accepted technique within the field of collision reconstruction. Methods for calculating stiffness coefficients rely upon examining the residual crush of a vehicle involved in a crash test. When vehicles are involved in a collision, portions of the crushed vehicle structures rebound from their maximum dynamic crush position. Once the vehicle structures have finished rebounding, the remaining damage is called the residual crush. A problem can arise when the plastic bumper cover rebounds more than the vehicle's structural components, resulting in an air gap between the structural components and the plastic bumper cover. Most modern New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) tests quantify crush in the test reports based on the deformed location of the plastic bumper cover and not the structural components behind the plastic bumper cover. This results in an underreporting of the actual residual crush

Neal, Joseph, Lipscomb, Matthew, Funk, Charles

Comparing Event Data Recorder Data (EDR) in Front/Rear Collisions from the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) Database

2024-01-2892

04/09/2024

The accuracy of collision severity data recorded by event data recorders (EDRs) has been previously measured primarily using barrier impact data from compliance tests and experimental low-speed impacts. There has been less study of the accuracy of EDR-based collision severity data in real-world, vehicle-to-vehicle collisions. Here we used 189 real-world front-into-rear collisions from the Crash Investigating Sampling System (CISS) database where the EDR from both vehicles recorded a severity to examine the accuracy of the EDR-reported speed changes. We calculated relative error between the EDR-reported speed change of each vehicle and a speed change predicted for that same vehicle using the EDR-reported speed change of the other vehicle and conservation of momentum. We also examined the effect of vehicle-type, mass ratio, and pre-impact braking on the relative error in the speed changes. Overall, we found that the common practice of using the bullet vehicle’s EDR-reported speed change

Fix, Ryan, Wilkinson, Craig, Siegmund, Gunter P.

Typical Acceleration and Speed Profiles for Right-Turn Maneuvers Based on SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Data

2024-01-2472

04/09/2024

The goal of this study was to use naturalistic driving data to characterize the motion of vehicles making right turns at signalized intersections. Right-turn maneuvers from 13 intersections were extracted from the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) database and categorized based on whether or not the vehicle came to a stop prior to making its turn. Out of the vehicles that did stop, those that were the first and second in line at the intersection were isolated. This resulted in 186 stopped first-in-line turns, 91 stopped second-in-line turns, and 353 no stop turns. Independent variables regarding the maneuver, including driver’s sex and age, vehicle type, speed, and longitudinal and lateral acceleration were extracted. The on-board video was reviewed to categorize the road as dry/wet and if it was day/night. Aerial photographs of the intersections were obtained, and the inner radius of the curve was measured using the curb as a reference. For vehicles that stopped at the

Flynn, Thomas I., Wilkinson, Craig, Siegmund, Gunter P.

Uncertainty Introduced by Image Projection in Video-Based Reconstructions of Vehicle Positions and Speeds

2024-01-2485

04/09/2024

Video evidence in collision reconstruction has become a common foundation for vehicle position and speed analyses. The goal of this study was to explore how the uncertainty of these position/speed analyses is affected by various camera-, scene-, and vehicle-related properties. To achieve this goal, we quantified how the size and aspect ratio of pixels in the pixel grid change as a result of correcting for lens distortion and projecting the pixel grid onto a real-world surface captured by the image. Relying on both general and case-specific examples, we used Monte Carlo analyses to explore how uncertainty can be calculated and how it varies for different measurements and different camera-, scene-, and vehicle-related properties. We found that i) the aspect ratio of image pixels projected onto a road surface can vary by multiple orders of magnitude over an entire image and generally increases rapidly as the projected pixel nears the horizon; ii) the uncertainty associated with the real

Young, Cole, Flynn, Thomas, Miller, Ian, Siegmund, Gunter P.

Validating the Sun System in Blender for Recreating Shadows

2024-01-2476

04/09/2024

Shadow positions can be useful in determining the time of day that a photograph was taken and determining the position, size, and orientation of an object casting a shadow in a scene. Astronomical equations can predict the location of the sun relative to the earth, and therefore the position of shadows cast by objects, based on the location’s latitude and longitude as well as the date and time. 3D computer software have begun to include these calculations as a part of their built-in sun systems. In this paper, the authors examine the sun system in the 3D modeling software Blender to determine its accuracy for use in accident reconstruction. A parking lot was scanned using Faro LiDAR scanner to create a point cloud of the environment. A camera was then set up on a tripod at the environment and photographs were taken at various times throughout the day from the same location in the environment. This environment was then 3D modeled in Blender based on the point cloud, and the sun system

Barreiro, Evan, Carter, Neal, Hashemian, Alireza

Comparing the Forward Collision Warning Response of a 2020 Toyota Camry and 2020 Toyota RAV4

2024-01-2471

04/09/2024

Testing was conducted at four speeds – 35, 50, 60, and 70 mph – to evaluate the performance of the audible and visual forward collision warning (FCW) component of the pre-collision system (PCS) in a 2020 Toyota RAV4 and a 2020 Toyota Camry. Both vehicles were tested in daytime conditions while approaching a Stationary Vehicle Target (SVT). The 2020 Toyota Camry was also tested in nighttime conditions while approaching a live stationary vehicle. Testing measured the time to collision (TTC) values at the issuance of the FCW, the distance from the test vehicles to the target at FCW, and the speed of the test vehicle at FCW utilizing Racelogic VBOX data acquisition systems. A comparison of the performance of the FCW component of two different generations of Toyota Safety Sense – P versus 2.0 – was also made. The results of the testing add higher speed scenarios to the database of publicly available tests from sources like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which currently

Harrington, Shawn, Aguirre, Roberto

Analysis of Fluid Evidence on Various Vehicle Components

2024-01-2467

04/09/2024

Determining occupant kinematics in a vehicle crash is essential when understanding injury mechanisms and assessing restraint performance. Identifying contact marks is key to the process. This study was conducted to assess the ability to photodocument the various fluids on different vehicle interior component types and colors with and without the use of ultraviolet (UV) lights. Biological (blood, saliva, sweat and skin), consumable and chemical fluids were applied to vehicle interior components, such as seatbelt webbing, seat and airbag fabrics, roof liner and leather steering wheel. The samples were photodocumented with natural light and UV light (365 nm) exposure immediately after surface application and again 14 days later. The review of the photos indicated that fabric type and color were important factors. The fluids deposits were better visualized on non-porous than porous materials. For example, blood was better documented on curtain airbags than side or driver airbags. Blood and

Boysen, Kevin, Parenteau, Chantal, Toomey, Daniel, Gregg, Richard H.

Vehicle Accelerations during Common Maneuvers: Speed Bumps, Dips, and Parking Blocks

2024-01-2480

04/09/2024

Typical everyday driving scenarios involve acceleration ranges which are relevant to accident reconstruction. Understanding the motions and accelerations endured in common driving maneuvers can help quantify the accelerations of vehicles and occupants when reconstructing a collision. This paper evaluates various everyday driving conditions, such as traversing speed bumps and dips, and impacting parking blocks. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the accelerations experienced during everyday driving scenarios to provide a reference for impact severity analysis in the field of accident reconstruction

Danaher, David, Donaldson, Drew, McDonough, Sean, Cochran, Reece, Reed, Titus

Validating RealityCapture for Point cloud Creation Using sUAS Imagery

2024-01-2477

04/09/2024

Creating a 3-dimensional environment using imagery from small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS, or unmanned aerial vehicles -UAVs, or colloquially, drones) has grown in popularity recently in accident reconstruction. In this process, ground control points are placed at an accident scene and an sUAS is flown over an accident site and a series of overlapping, high resolution images are taken of the site. Those images and ground control points are then loaded onto a computer and processed using photogrammetric software to create a 3-dimensional point cloud or mesh of the site, which then can be used as a tool for recreating an accident scene. Many software packages have been created to perform these tasks, and in this paper, the authors examine RealityCapture, a newer photogrammetric software, to evaluate its accuracy for the use in accident reconstruction. It is the authors’ experience that RealityCapture may at times produce point clouds with less noise that other software packages. To do

Barreiro, Evan, Carter, Neal

Rollover Protection Structure - Gouge and Scratch Analysis in Rollover Crashes

2024-01-2466

04/09/2024

Gouges and scratches to rollover protection structures are informative to the reconstruction and analysis of real-world vehicle rollover crashes. Variations in ground surface composition can be correlated with accompanying witness marks on the vehicle rollover protection structure. This paper presents the results of rollover protection structure specimen tests using a variety of test speeds and surface compositions. The test results and analyses that follow are displayed for use in comparison to similar damage on subject crash vehicles. In addition, impact of steel rollover protection structures with various opposing ground surface materials can produce visible sparks in low light conditions. Tests were performed to show the ability of these structures to produce sparks from various surface impacts

Warner, Mark H., Swensen, Grant, Warner, Wyatt Y.

Front Bumper Dive During Maximum Braking of ABS-Equipped Vehicles

2024-01-2469

04/09/2024

Passenger vehicle bumpers are designed to reduce collision damage. If colliding bumpers are not vertically aligned, their effectiveness is reduced and the resulting damage increases. Two bumpers of similar static design heights may become misaligned due to bumper dive caused by one or both vehicles pitching forward due to braking. Previous researchers have quantified bumper dive and how it changed with passenger vehicle designs. Currently there are limited data available to quantify the mean, variance, and distribution of bumper dive for modern ABS-equipped vehicles. We conducted maximum braking tests using 3 late-model minivans/CUVs (crossover utility vehicles) and 9 late-model sedans on contiguous dry asphalt and concrete road surfaces. Between 16 and 23 tests were conducted for each vehicle and all tests were conducted from an initial speed of about 65 km/h (40 mph). A laser distance sensor mounted to the front bumpers measured bumper height throughout each test. Overall, we found

Young, Steven, Gish, Russell, Siegmund, Gunter P.

Can pedestrian headform test results reflect the distribution of head injuries in the real world

2024-01-2515

04/09/2024

Wrap around distance (WAD) is an important index to evaluate the contact position between pedestrian head and vehicle, and is also one of the key parameters of pedestrian accident reconstruction. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the pedestrian headform testcan reflect the distribution of head injury in the real world. Firstly, in order to study the distribution of pedestrian head WAD in road accidents in China, a head WAD prediction model was established using logistic regression based on pedestrian height and vehicle collision speed. Secondly, in order to study the distribution of the risk of severe head injuries among pedestrians in accidents, the frequency of pedestrian head impact and the proportion of pedestrian head injury were counted respectively for sedans and SUVs. Subsequently, a risk curve for severe head injuries was constructed based on the head impact frequency and the proportion of severe injuries, utilizing a method that incorporates joint probability

Ye, Bin, Liu, Yu, Long, Yongcheng, Shi, Liangliang, Xinming, Wan

Event Data Recorder Trigger Probability in the Crash Investigation Sampling System Database

2024-01-5027

02/23/2024

The objective of this study was to quantify the field performance of passenger vehicle event data recorders (EDRs) in recording data into non-volatile memory at the 8 km/h delta-v (Δv) trigger threshold specified by Title 49, Part 563 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Part 563). Part 563 applies to passenger vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2012. The trigger threshold is distinct from the threshold required to deploy an airbag. Events meeting the trigger threshold will cause data to be preserved on the EDR even if airbags are not deployed. This is the first study to quantify EDR trigger threshold performance. This data is valuable in the evaluation of sub-airbag deployment crashes. The study was accomplished via analysis of EDR and reconstructed Δv data from 3,960 cases in the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The binary presence or non-presence of an event on the EDRs of

Watson, Richard A., Bonugli, Enrique, Greenston, Mathew, Santos, Erick, Martinez, Jonathan

Analysis of the Roll Cage of an Electric All Terrain Vehicle (e-ATV) Using the Finite Element Method

2023-01-5178

02/23/2024

The design and analysis of the roll cage for the ATV car are the subjects of this report. The roll cage is one of the key elements of an ATV car. It is the primary component of an ATV, on which the engine, steering, and gearbox are mounted. The vehicle's sprung mass is beneath the roll cage. The initiation of cracks and the deformation of the vehicle are caused by forces acting on it from various directions. Stresses are consequently produced. FEA of the roll cage is used in this paper in an effort to identify these areas. We have performed torsional analysis as well as front, rear, side impact, and rollover crash analyses. These analyses were all completed using ANSYS Workbench 2020 R1. The design process complies with all guidelines outlined in the SAE rule book of E-Baja

Ayyakkannu, Vadivel, Sri Ram, P., Vijayakumar, Vishnu

Use of the Critical Speed Formula

J2969_202401 (Current)

01/17/2024

This SAE Recommended Practice provides guidelines for procedures and practices used to obtain and record measurements and to analyze the results of the critical speed method. It is for use at accident sites using manual or electronic measurements. The method allows for many unique factors and the recommended procedure will permit a consistent use of the method in order to reduce errors and uncertainty in the results. The results from the critical speed formula should always, when possible, be compared to other accident reconstruction methodologies. When different accident reconstruction methods are used, the uncertainty of each method should be analyzed and presented

Crash Data Collection and Analysis Standards Committee

Investigation of Real-World Crash Using an Accident Reconstruction Methodology Employing Crash Test Data

2024-26-0288

01/16/2024

Automotive crash data analysis and reconstruction is vital for ensuring automotive safety. The objective of vehicle crash reconstruction is to determine the vehicle's motion before, during, and after the crash, as well as the impact on occupants in terms of injuries. Simulation approaches, such as PC CrashTM, have been developed to understand pre-crash and post-crash vehicle motion, rather than the crash phase behavior. Over the past few decades, crash phase simulations have utilized vehicle finite element models. While multibody simulation tools are suitable for crash simulations, they often require detailed crash test data to accurately capture vehicle behavior, which is not always readily available. This paper proposes a solution to this limitation by incorporating crash test data from databases, such as NHTSA, Global NCAP, consumer rating reports, and videos, along with a multibody-based approach, to conduct crash phase simulations. In this study, multibody vehicle models were

Sharma, Sanyam, Chawla, Anoop, Mukherjee, Sudipto

Safer Buses for Passengers and Pedestrians: Crashes and Injury Analyses from Indian and German In-Depth Data

2024-26-0004

01/16/2024

Bus transport is an important element in a sustainable transport strategy. The objective of this study is to understand crashes and injuries involving buses, suggest potential passive-safety interventions, estimate their effectiveness, and compare their effectiveness between Germany and India. Descriptive analysis of crash data from the German In-depth Accident Study (GIDAS) and the Road Accident Sampling System India (RASSI) database was performed in two parts: First, bus passengers and their injuries were analyzed and second, pedestrian injuries in bus-to-pedestrian crashes were analyzed. Lastly, interventions were suggested, and their effectiveness was estimated. Analysis of bus passengers showed that most moderate-to-critical injuries in the GIDAS data were to the head caused by interior bus components. In the RASSI data, head injuries were also frequent, often due to bus interior contact, but also due to ejection and impact to the ground or bus exterior. As many as 31% of all

Ranmal, Aarti, Jeppsson, Hanna, Strandroth, Johan, Lubbe, Nils

Modelling and Evaluation of Pedestrian Active Safety System Based on Accidents in India

2024-26-0013

01/16/2024

Many Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) experience injuries and fatalities every year, making road safety a challenge in the World. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) during the year 2021, a total number of 4,12,432 road accidents have been reported in India, claiming 1,53,972 lives and causing injuries to 3,84,448 persons. In terms of road-user categories, the total fatality of the Pedestrian road-users was 18.9 per cent of persons killed in road accidents. One of the ways to handle the situation is to protect pedestrians utilizing active safety measures in the vehicle. In addition, active safety research heavily relies on perceptions of pre-crash scenarios. The objective of the study is to examine passenger car-to-pedestrian scenarios and model active safety system in a car to prevent or mitigate collisions. Road Accident Sampling System – India (RASSI) database is used for this research, which provided a comprehensive set of accident data describing the

Doshi, Urvilkumar HItendrabhai, Agrawal, Saurav, Muthanandam, Muthukumar, Yarramsetti, Karthik, Penumaka, Avinash, Kalakala, Vijaya Prakash

Child Injury Pattern and Mechanism Differences Based on the Front Seat Occupancy Status in Rear Impacts with Severe Structural Intrusions from the Rear

2024-26-0005

01/16/2024

Child crash injury protection in severe rear impact chiefly depends on how well the rear survival space bounded by the vehicle structure is maintained. Previous research and studies have shown the ill effects of front seatback collapse intruding into the rear child survival space from front with minor or no intrusions from the rear. This paper shows the child injury pattern and fatal injury mechanism for a rear impact crash with a severe compartment intrusion from the rear without any front seat occupant. Furthermore, it compares the injury outcome with a similar crash and severe intrusion in the presence of the front occupant employing a full-scale vehicle-to-vehicle crash test. A detailed real-world crash investigation is conducted to identify the injury mechanism and is compared with the outcome of similar severity rear impact vehicle-to-vehicle crash tests producing different injury patterns. The comparison and the analysis show that the survival space intrusion due to safety cage

Thorbole, Chandrashekhar

Effectiveness of the Load Legs in Enhancing the Passive Safety of Rear-Facing Child Seats in Frontal Crash

2024-26-0343

01/16/2024

The passive safety performance of a child seat is modulated by the design features of the child seat and the vehicle interior. For example, in the rear-facing configuration, the child seat impacting front structures increases the head injury risk during a frontal crash. Therefore, this study evaluates the effectiveness of the load leg countermeasure in improving the child seat's overall kinematics and its capability to prevent the secondary impact on the vehicle interior structure in a severe frontal crash scenario. An in-depth, real-world crash investigation involving a properly installed rear-facing child seat impacting the center console was selected for the study where the infant sustained a severe brain injury. In addition, this crash is employed to choose the crash parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of the load leg countermeasure in a similar scenario. Finally, crash sled tests are conducted using the crash signature of the vehicle as obtained from the NHTSA NCAP rigid

Thorbole, Chandrashekhar

SAE International's Dictionary of Vehicle Accident Reconstruction and Automotive Safety

R-55610/25/2023

This invaluable dictionary springs from the foundation laid by the glossary in Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods, Third Edition created by the disbanded SAE Accident Investigation and Reconstruction Practices Committee (AIRP). Building on this content, this book encompasses a wide array of terms derived from both accident reconstruction and automotive safety. While biomechanics contributes numerous terms related to automotive safety concerning occupants, accident reconstruction primarily caters to vehicular elements. Unlike typical glossaries, this compendium doesn't just define; it references the sources related to the concept. Diving into SAE standards, recommended practices, and other renowned texts, this dictionary paints a complete picture. Even as the automotive landscape evolves, this work stands as an extensive reference for students and professionals alike

Brach, Matthew

Acceleration Modeling with Constant Power

2023-01-5073

10/16/2023

The evaluation of the acceleration, velocity, and travel distance of a motor vehicle is an issue that arises frequently in the analysis of vehicle accidents. It is well known that the acceleration capabilities of a motor vehicle generally reduce as the velocity increases. Vehicle accident reconstruction has traditionally used constant acceleration models with stepped decreases of acceleration as the velocities, distances, and loading increase. For any given vehicle, the energy output of the engine that can be transmitted to the drivetrain remains within a power band of the operating engine. Transmissions efficiently transfer this relatively constant power to the drive wheels. Using the mathematical relationships of the “power equations,” the acceleration, velocity, and travel distances for vehicles can be reasonably evaluated with limited test information. Adjustments for differing load conditions and terrain are readily incorporated into the model. Constant power models are developed

Poplin, Woodrow M., Poplin, Colby A.

Guideline for Photo-Documentation of Exterior Vehicle Damage for 3D Analysis

J1676_202309 (Current)

09/28/2023

The 3D crush model can be obtained by any suitable photogrammetry method using this image set and is intended to graphically represent in photographs the shape and orientation of the damaged surface(s) relative to the undamaged, or least damaged, portion of the vehicle. The procedure is intended to provide an image set sufficient to determine, with the use of photogrammetric methodologies, the 3D location of points on the crushed surface of the damaged vehicle. Measurement of the exterior damaged surface(s) on a vehicle is a necessary step in quantifying the deformation caused by a collision and the energy dissipated by the deformation process. The energy analysis is sometimes called a crush analysis. Evaluation of the energy dissipated is useful in reconstructing the change in the velocity of the vehicles (delta-V) involved in a collision. This guideline is intended for use by investigators who do not have photogrammetry expertise, special equipment or training and may be constrained

Crash Data Collection and Analysis Standards Committee

Post-Collision Run-Out Vehicle Deceleration Based on Real-World Data

2023-01-5063

09/13/2023

In traffic accidents, the run-out is the phase after impact until reaching a final rest position. Analyzing and reconstructing this phase is a task leading sometimes to a broad bandwidth of results. This can be due to the unknown driver’s reaction and braking behavior. The well-known literature describes rollout decelerations, but these exclude the influence of the driver, particularly with regard to accident situations. Measurement data from real-world collisions can help quantifying the vehicle’s deceleration during the run-out and thus at least partially close the existing research gap. Therefore, this study deals with the systematic evaluation of real-world measurement data from intersection collisions collected by accident data recorders. The high-frequency acceleration and speed data of 45 accident vehicles with impact velocities up to 70 kph were processed for this purpose; characteristic values for the run-out phase were calculated in each case and then statistically evaluated

Fuerbeth, Uwe

Frontal Crash Reconstruction Compared to Event Data Recorders in the Crash Investigation Sampling System Database and the Effect on Injury Risk Models

2023-01-5043

07/17/2023

This study compares statistical models for frontal crash injuries based on delta-v data reported by the vehicle event data recorder (EDR) with injury probability models based on delta-v reconstructed by Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) investigators. Injury probabilities and their follow-on use in advanced automatic crash notification (AACN) systems have traditionally been based on delta-v obtained through accident reconstruction of field crashes in the National Automotive Sampling System Crash Data System (NASS-CDS) database. Field delta-v from EDRs in the CISS database is an alternative source of information for crash injury probability modeling. In this study, frontal impact injury risk probabilities computed from EDR and reconstructed delta-v were compared. All data came from the years 2017–2021 of the CISS database, which contains EDR downloads and also reconstructed delta-v using crush measurements and NHTSA’s WinSmash software. On average, CISS reconstructions

Watson, Richard A., Bonugli, Enrique, Greenston, Mathew

A Comparison of the Mid-Size Male THOR and Hybrid III ATDs in Vehicle Frontal Crash Tests

2022-22-0005

06/27/2023

In order to evaluate the THOR-50M as a front impact Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) for vehicle safety design, the ATD was compared to the H3-50M in matching vehicle crash tests for 20 unique vehicle models from 2 vehicle manufacturers. For the belted driver condition, a total of fifty-four crash tests were investigated in the 56.3 km/h (35 mph) front rigid barrier impact condition. Four more tests were compared for the unbelted driver and right front passenger at 40.2 km/h (25 mph) in the flat frontal and 30-degree right oblique rigid barrier impact conditions. The two ATDs were also evaluated for their ability to predict injury risk by comparing their fleet average injury risk to Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) accident data for similar conditions. The differences in seating position and their effect on ATD responses were also investigated. This study showed that the belted THOR-50M injury responses were higher than the H3-50M by 25%-180%, in all reported ATD responses

O’Connor, Chris, Kim, Agnes, Barrette, Tim, Dix, Jeff

Crashworthiness Performance of Rear Underrun Protection Device under Simulated Car Collision

15-16-03-0014

06/06/2023

A rear underrun protection device (RUPD) plays a fundamental role in reducing the risk of running a small car beneath the rear or the side of a heavy truck because of the difference in structure heights in the event of a vehicle collision. Even in cars with five-star safety ratings, crashing into a truck with poorly designed RUPD results in a passenger compartment intrusion (PCI) more than the maximum allowable limit as per the United States (US) American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standards Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). In this article, mild steel was used to fabricate the new designs of RUPD. The design was analyzed using finite element (FE) analysis LS-DYNA software. Simulations of a Toyota Yaris 2010 and Ford Taurus 2001 were performed at a constant speed of 63 km/h at the time of impact. The ability to prevent severe injuries in a collision with the rear side of the truck was estimated to optimize the underrun design. The new design has

Albahash, Zeid Fadel, Sharba, Mohaiman, Hasan, Bahaa Aldin Abass

A Study on Estimation Tool of Occupant Injury Risk for Deriving Integrated Safety Scenarios

2023-01-0652

04/11/2023

‘Active safety systems’ are actively being developed to prevent collisions. The integration of ‘active safety systems’ and traditional ‘passive safety systems’ such as seatbelt and airbags is an important issue. The ‘Integrated safety’ performance is that comprehensively controls the performance of ‘active’ and ‘passive’ safety systems to reduce occupant injuries. To develop ‘integrated safety’ performance, it is important to develop crash scenarios for autonomous vehicles. This study is about the development of ‘Estimation Tool of Occupant Injury Risk’ for deriving risk integrated safety scenarios focused on occupant injury. The results of random traffic simulation using ‘Virtual Prototype’ were used to select parameters, and ‘MADYMO Equivalent Simplified Vehicle Crash Analysis Model’ was used to derive F-D characteristics for each vehicle collision condition. The ‘Estimation Tool of Occupant Injury Risk’ was developed through the analysis of occupant injuries using the Hyundai Active

Han, Kwang Cheol, Seo, Bo Pil, Unger, Michiel

Coefficient of Restitution and Collision Pulse Duration in Low-Speed Vehicle-to-Barrier Impacts

2023-01-0624

04/11/2023

The coefficient of restitution is utilized in various methods for determining the change in velocity (delta-V) associated with a vehicle collision event. Additionally, for a given delta-V, the magnitude of vehicle acceleration varies with different collision pulse durations. Collision restitution and duration parameters are thus considered by both accident reconstructionists and biomechanists in the investigation of vehicle collision severity and occupant injury potential. Because of the uniqueness of individual vehicle designs, it is difficult to determine a collision’s specific coefficient of restitution and crash pulse duration. Accident reconstructionists often estimate the values of these parameters based on staged crash tests. Prior studies involving low-speed collisions have sought to determine correlations between restitution and collision characteristics and have established equations to assist in estimating restitution. Most of these equations are based around the correlation

Olberding, Joseph, Petroskey, Karla, Leipold, Tara

Validation of MoTeC Data Acquisition System

2023-01-0630

04/11/2023

Technology is ever advancing in the world around us, and it is no different when it comes to data acquisition systems used in accident reconstruction. In 2016, the SAE publication “Data Acquisition Using Smart Phone Applications,” Neale et al. evaluated the accuracy of basic fitness applications in tracking position within the smart phone itself [1]. In 2018, a follow up publication “Mid-Range Data Acquisition Units Using GPS and Accelerometers” tested the Harry’s Lap TimerTM application for use in smart phones and compared the data to the Race Logic VBOX [2]. In this paper, another data acquisition system, the MoTeC C185, was tested. The MoTeC C185 data logger contains an internal 3-axis accelerometer and was also equipped with an external Syvecs 50Hz GPS Module with 6-axis accelerometer. A test vehicle was instrumented with the MoTeC C185, Race Logic VBOX, and Harry’s Lap TimerTM. Data collected by the MoTeC C185 was then compared to data collected by the other acquisition systems to

Danaher, David, McDonough, Sean, Donaldson, Drew, Cochran, Reece

Examination of Detroit Assurance ^Ⓡ 4.0 Video Radar Decision Unit (VRDU) Records for Use in Crash Analysis

2023-01-0009

04/11/2023

The Daimler Detroit AssuranceⓇ 4.0 collision mitigation system is able to assist a driver in various aspects of safely operating their vehicle. One capability is the Active Brake Assist (ABA), which uses the Video Radar Decision Unit (VRDU) to communicate with the front bumper-mounted radar to provide information about potential hazards to the driver. The VRDU may warn the driver of potential hazards and apply partial or full braking, depending on the data being gathered and analyzed. The VRDU also records event data when an ABA event occurs. This data may be extracted from the VRDU using Detroit DiagnosticLink software. This paper presents an overview of the VRDU functionality and examines aspects of VRDU data such as the range and resolution of data elements, the synchronicity or timing of the recorded data, and application of the data for use in the analysis of crashes. Various tests were performed using a truck equipped with Detroit AssuranceⓇ 4.0 in a manner designed to trigger

Plant, David, Grimes, Wesley, Cheek, Timothy, Austin, Timothy, Steiner, John, Higgins, Bradley, Lombardi, Kristina, DiSogra, Matthew

Examination of Bendix® Data Recording (BDR) Records for Use in Crash Analysis

2023-01-0012

04/11/2023

Electronic control units of Bendix® ABS/ESC and Collision Mitigation Systems have the capability to record event data in the ABS/ESC control unit. Bendix refers to this event data recording functionality as the Bendix Data Recorder (BDR). This paper presents an overview of the BDR functionality and examines the range and resolution of data elements, the synchronicity or timing of the recorded data, and application of the data for use in analyzing crashes. Various tests were performed using trucks equipped with Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™ and were conducted in a manner to trigger BDR records. BDR data was compared to data collected from the J1939 CAN Bus and from Racelogic VBOX data loggers

Cheek, Timothy, Grimes, Wesley, Plant, David, Austin, Timothy, Steiner, John, Higgins, Bradley, Lombardi, Kristina, Getz, Charles

Speed Determination Using Audio Analysis of Dash Camera Video for Vehicle Accident Reconstruction

2023-01-0632

04/11/2023

Video from dash or surveillance cameras is sometimes used in vehicle accident reconstruction to analyze the speeds of vehicles. However, video captured during nighttime, during poor visibility conditions, or of events out of frame may not always visually capture details needed to determine the speed of the vehicle in question. Prior research has determined speed from vehicle acoustic signals, but little research has analyzed the audio portion of dash camera video for use in accident reconstruction and other forensic settings. The purpose of this study was to outline and test the validity of a method for using the audio portion of dash camera video to determine vehicle speed. Extracting the audio portion from the video recording and further processing it with commercially available software can allow the calculation of vehicle speed and acceleration when traveling over roadway surfaces and detection of turn signal activations while driving. By extracting the audio portion from the

Vega, Henry V., Ngo, Justin, Engleman, Krystina, Suway, Jeffrey

Electric Motorcycle Acceleration, Braking, and Regenerative Coast-Down Deceleration Testing and Analysis

2023-01-0631

04/11/2023

Three fully electric motorcycles were tested and analyzed for acceleration, braking, and regenerative coast-down deceleration. A Zero DSR, BMW C-Evolution, and a Harley-Davidson LiveWire underwent each of the following test series. The first test series consisted of accelerating the electric motorcycles from a stop. For the second test series, the motorcycles were decelerated by using three different brake applications: front and rear brake application, front-only brake application, and rear-only brake application. For the third test series, regenerative coast-down deceleration was tested at different ride mode configurations. Regenerative braking systems are designed to convert the vehicles’ kinetic energy into electrical potential energy during the vehicles’ coast-down phase, resulting in a moderate deceleration. In addition to testing the vehicles’ deceleration during its’ regenerative coast-down phase, brake light activation delay relative to throttle roll-off was analyzed. All

Phan, Chris, Meza Buendia, Saul A., Nguyen, Benjamin Mai, Fatzinger, Edward, Landerville, Jon

Accuracy and Repeatability of Mobile Phone LiDAR Capture

2023-01-0614

04/11/2023

Apple’s mobile phone LiDAR capabilities were previously evaluated to obtain geometry from multiple exemplar vehicles, but results were inconsistent and less accurate than traditional ground-based LiDAR (SAE Technical Paper 2022-01-0832. Miller, Hashemian, Gillihan, Helms). This paper builds upon existing research by utilizing the newest version of the mobile LiDAR hardware and software previously studied, as well as evaluating additional objects of varying sizes and a newly released software not yet studied. To better explore the accuracy achievable with Apple mobile phone LiDAR, multiple objects with varied surface textures, colors, and sizes were scanned. These objects included exemplar passenger vehicles (including a motorcycle), a fuel tank, and a spare tire mounted on a chrome wheel. To test the repeatability of the presented methodologies, four participants scanned each object multiple times and created three individual data sets per software. The accuracy for each data set was

Miller, Seth Higgins, Hashemian, Alireza, Gillihan, Robert, Benes, Saylor

Engine Idle Creep Testing and Modeling of Vehicles Equipped with CVT, DCT, and Conventional Automatic Transmissions

2023-01-0620

04/11/2023

Determining impact speeds is an important factor in any accident reconstruction. Event data recorders are now commonplace in on-road vehicles and provide an added tool for the accident reconstructionist. However, in low-speed collisions where impact severity is often important, event data recorders fail to record data as the minimum threshold for impact severity sometimes is not met. Alternatively, damage-based methods may be ineffective in quantifying the severity of the impact due to a lack of defined vehicle crush damage. These types of scenarios oftentimes present themselves as a bullet vehicle in the beginning processes of accelerating from a stop or when a stopped target vehicle is rear-ended from behind by the bullet vehicle. A specific subset of this scenario might entail the foot of the driver of the bullet vehicle coming off the brake pedal, allowing the bullet vehicle to “creep” forward at engine idle speeds and impacting the target vehicle resulting in no visible crush

Timbario, Thomas A., Stoner, Jacob, Sheldon II, Stuart

Validation of the Arnold Render for Creation of Physically Correct Lighting Models

2023-01-0618

04/11/2023

Prior research has tested the validity of Cycles Engine render in Blender for the creation of physically correct lighting models; however, a research gap still exists in examining the use of Arnold render engine in 3DS Max for accident reconstruction and other forensic settings [1]. Specifically, the process presented in this paper utilizes the Arnold render engine within 3DS-Max to analyze the lighting models. Arnold is a physically-based render (PBR) engine and can be used to recreate an accident scene geometry and lighting conditions. The goal is to create light sources within Arnold that represent the real-world light sources. The light sources in Arnold are quantified by several variables, including intensity, color, and size. The intensity and size variables determine the self-emitted radiance of the light source and require further explanation to determine the relationship between these variables in Arnold and real-world lighting quantities. In this paper, we compare and

Vega, Henry V., Suway, Jeffrey

Acceleration Performance Data of Mountain Snowmobiles

2023-01-0615

04/11/2023

Published data relevant to snowmobile crash reconstruction is comparatively limited, especially pertaining to mountain snowmobiling and riding in deep snow. Snowmobiling is a unique motorsport activity as it requires substantial rider input and physical interaction to properly control the vehicle. The added complexities of varying slope angle and snow depth in mountain terrain make application of test data from testing done on flat surfaces less useful when applied to sloped terrain analysis. New data from testing performed in deep snow conditions on various slopes is presented in this paper. Acceleration tests were performed using two late model mountain snowmobiles from a stop on various slope angles. Additional related factors such as snow density, trenching, and snow mass momentum exchange are also discussed. Comparison of these test results to previously published snowmobile testing data advances the understanding of snowmobile acceleration parameters into mountain terrain

Warner, Wyatt, Warner, Mark

Traffic Accident Reconstruction Method Integrating Surveillance Video and Scene Point Cloud

2022-01-7118

12/16/2022

In order to overcome the problems such as ignoring the lack of depth information in the process of perspective projection, or sensitive to surveillance video quality that the existing vehicle motion state solution methods based on video image, this paper presents a methodology for reconstructing traffic accident based on surveillance video and scene point cloud. Firstly, the 2D-3D corresponding points from surveillance video image and scene point cloud are used to estimate the camera spatial pose, and then the Camshift algorithm is used to track the vehicle features and obtain the sequence of vehicle feature pixels. Secondly, the vehicle feature spatial position analysis model is constructed to analysis vehicle feature spatial position sequence, next the vehicle trajectory information is obtained by polynomial function fitting, and the vehicle speed information is obtained by feature spatial position Euclidean distance. Finally, simulation vehicle experiments are carried out under the

Guan, Chuang, Feng, Hao, Chen, Tao, Pan, Shaoyou, Zou, Donghua, Shi, Ming

Identifying Typical Pre-crash Scenarios from CIDAS Data

2022-01-7117

12/16/2022

Identifying typical pre-crash scenarios can assist in determining potentially dangerous road traffic situations, and provide a basis for further expansions to vehicle safety test scenarios. Firstly, for the purpose of identifying the typical pre-crash scenarios of road traffic in China, 5983 accident cases in the China Traffic Accident In-depth Study (CIDAS) Database were screened. Next, the following variables have been identified as characteristic variables of scenario identification: personnel injury, the type of road, the form of accident, accident time, the cause of the accident (including human factors, vehicle factors, and environmental factors), and the casualties in accident. Then, the correlation analysis was conducted using the Pearson correlation coefficient for the selected variables. After that, the SSE (sum of squared errors) index was used to determine the number of cluster center. Finally, we described five typical Chinese road traffic pre-crash scenarios utilizing the

Lin, Miao, Li, Xiaohu, Wang, Peng, Zhu, Tong

The Effect of Driver’s Response Features on Safety Effectiveness of Autonomous Emergency Braking

2022-01-7131

12/16/2022

The Autonomous emergency braking system (AEB) has been widely equipped in the design and manufacture of vehicles as an active safety system for preventing rear-end collisions. It has shown great safety potential in preventing collisions and reducing collision injuries. However, there are differences in the response characteristics of drivers in emergency scenarios due to individual differences and driving habits. The impact of different driver types on the safety performance of AEB systems has not been evaluated. In this study, the typical driver response model was constructed by selecting driver response features representing alertness and braking. The AEB algorithm of distance and situation awareness was combined with the kinematic of vehicle before the collision to construct a simulation case based on the rear-end collisions in the China in-depth accident study database (CIDAS). The collision avoidance percentage, the impact speed, and the minimum relative distance were used as

Wei, Tianzheng, Kang, Kai, Zhu, Tong, Liu, Haoxue

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