Is the virtual homologation for pedestrian protection viable?

One out of five deceased in traffic accidents is a pedestrian. In addition, pedestrians represent the 20 % of the hospitalized injured people. The deadliness rate of a pedestrian crash is significantly greater than for the rest of accidents. Thus, pedestrian crash is one of the more lethal traffic accidents and, consequently, pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users. Vehicle's design can influence immensely in the risk of seriousness of the accident. Regulations are the legal instruments in order to establish if a vehicle achieves the minimum safety requirements. Nevertheless, homologation implies costly and destructive tests. This problem could be solved by simulation techniques. Analyzing the viability of a virtual homologation is the main goal of this article. After studying pedestrian crash biomechanics, virtual tests will be performed using Finite Element software (Ls-Dyna) to assess the influence of the design of vehicle and the effect of a safety system (active bonnet). Comparison between virtual tests results and real tests allows deducing if the virtual homologation for pedestrian protection is viable

Multivariate Modelling of Pedestrian Fatality Risk Through on the Spot Accident Investigation

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable users of public roads and represent one of the largest groups of road casualties; their death rate around the world due to vehicle-pedestrian collisions is high and tending to rise. In Spain, as in other countries of the European Union, steps have been taken to reduce the number and consequences of such accidents, with encouraging results in recent years. A key to countering this concern is the accident research activity that has obtained remarkable achievements in different fields, especially when multidisciplinary approaches are taken. This paper describes the development of a multivariate model that is able to detect the most influential parameters on the consequences of vehicle-pedestrian collision and to quantify their impact on pedestrian fatality risk. First, an accident database containing detailed information and parameters of vehicle-pedestrian collisions in Madrid has been developed. The accidents were investigated on the spot by INSIA accident investigation teams and analyzed using advanced reconstruction techniques. The model was then developed with two components: (1) a classification tree that characterizes and selects the explanatory variables, identifying their interactions, and (2) a binary logistic regression to quantify the influence of each variable and interaction resulting from the classification tree. The whole model represents an important tool for identifying, quantifying and predicting the potential impact of measures aimed at reducing injuries in vehicle-pedestrian collisions

Mathematical models for assessment of vehicle crashworthiness: a review

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The Safety Risks of Proposed Fuel Economy Legislation

Based on, e.g., a comprehensive assessment of what is known of factors influencing automobile safety, previous industry responses to requirements for fuel economy and prior success of regulators in reducing injuries, Professor Graham concludes that pending fuel economy bills are apt to add 1650 fatalities and 8500 serious accidents to the annual highway toll. He also presents several short-term and long-term strategies for simultaneously saving fuel and lives

Methods and models for safety benefit assessment of advanced driver assistance systems in car-to-cyclist conflicts

To help drivers avoid or mitigate the severity of crashes, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) can be designed to provide warnings or interventions. Prospective safety assessment of ADAS is important to quantify and optimise their safety benefit. Such safety assessment methods include, for example, virtual simulations and test-track testing.Today, there are many components of virtual safety assessment simulations with models or methods that are missing or can be substantially improved. This is particularly true for simulations assessing ADASs that address crashes involving cyclists—a crash type that is not decreasing at the same rate as the overall number of road crashes in Europe. The specific methodological gaps that this work addresses are: a) computational driver models for car-to-cyclist overtaking, b) algorithms for model fitting and efficient calculation of ADAS intervention time, and c) a method for merging data from different data sources into the safety assessment.Specifically, for a), different driver models for everyday driver behaviour while overtaking cyclists in a naturalistic driving setting were derived and compared. For b), computationally efficient algorithms to fit driver models to data and compute ADAS intervention time were developed for different types of vehicle models. The algorithms can be included in ADAS both for offline use in virtual assessment simulations and online real-time use in in-vehicle ADAS. Lastly, for c), a method was developed that uses Bayesian statistics to combine results from different data sources, e.g., simulations and test-track data, for ADAS safety benefit assessment.In addition to presenting five peer-reviewed scientific publications, which address these issues, this compilation thesis discusses the use of different data sources; introduces the fundamentals of Bayesian inference, linear programming, and numerical root-finding algorithms; and provides the rationale for methodological choices made, where relevant. Finally, this thesis describes the relationships among the publications and places them into context with existing literature.This work developed driver models for the virtual simulations and methods for the reliable estimation of the prospective safety benefit, which together have the potential to improve the design and the evaluation of ADAS in general, and ADAS for the car-to-cyclist overtaking scenario in particular

An overview of MADYMO uses at INRETS

4th meeting International MADYMO users meeting, EINDHOVEN, PAYS-BAS, 06-/09/1993 - 07/09/1993This paper describes the modelling approach using MADYMO 2D at INRETS (The French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research). A mathematical dynamic model of the pedestrian leg in lateral impact was developed (M.MATYJEWSKI) to test car fronts in order to estimate the severity of the knee joint lesions and to predict the risk of leg injuries in car/pedestrian accidents. Results of this model were compared with those obtained with an instrumented mechanical leg used in the bumper impact test. A train passenger behaviour during a crash at low speed was developed (J.BLOCH and F.MINNE) to improve the function of the fusible area at each carriage extremities. Results of this model were compared with those obtained during a real scale crash test. The kinematic of a 3 -year old child in a childseat on a passenger car seat is analysed (R.BIARD and J.L.CHANIAC) during a frontal impact. Experimental results from sled tests serve as a basis for the validation of the model