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Paper Title:
Vehicle Design and Speed
and Pedestrian Injury: Australia’s involvement in the International
Harmonised Research Activities Pedestrian Safety Expert Group
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Authors:
Robert Anderson, Jack
McLean
Abstract:
Australia is contributing
to the International Harmonised Research Activities Pedestrian Safety
Expert Group (IHRA PSEG) through research undertaken at the Road
Accident Research Unit, and funded by the Commonwealth Department
of Transport and Regional Services. The IHRA PSEG is charged with
the development of test procedures for assessing the protection
afforded to pedestrians in the event of a collision. The Group is
seeking to develop these test procedures based on field data on
pedestrian accidents. Importantly, the test procedures will take
into account different vehicle shapes and pedestrian anthropometry.
As with procedures developed by the European Enhanced Vehicle-safety
Committee, these procedures will be based on sub-systems representing
the head, upper leg and full leg. The Road Accident Research Unit
has contributed field data collected in the period 1977-2000. The
Unit has also participated in an extensive computer simulation task
to develop test conditions for different car shapes. A validated
MADYMO model of a 50th percentile male was positioned in front of
vehicles that represented sedan and sports type cars, sports utility
vehicles (four-wheel drives), and one-box (van) profile vehicles
travelling at 30, 40 and 50 km/h. The results of each model were
analysed to extract the equivalent subsystem test conditions that
reproduce the impacts predicted by the model. Parallel studies were
undertaken in Japan and the USA with alternative models, and the
results have been compiled and compared. The results showed that
the test conditions required in subsystem tests depend on the profile
of the car. Although the MADYMO models used by each country were
validated against the same data, and behaved similarly overall,
the differences in results between each model warrant further scrutiny
before firm conclusions can be made on the test conditions required
for each vehicle profile. Once these differences have been resolved,
the study will be extended to models of children and adults of different
stature, to produce a comprehensive set of test conditions for pedestrian
subsystem tests.
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