Design guidelines for pregnant occupant safety

During pregnancy a woman’s body undergoes a considerable change in size and shape, and this can impact upon her safety during car travel. The two main issues are proper seat belt use and positioning, and steering wheel clearance. A comprehensive analysis of the questionnaire responses by pregnant women and anthropometric measurements demonstrates that the difficulties experienced can be explained by the physical changes and interactions throughout the body during gestation. Analysis of the anthropometry of pregnant women highlights that many pregnant users could easily be excluded from designs inadvertently if the design is based on males or non-pregnant females. Thus incorporation of pregnant women’s anthropometry into automotive design could reduce the exclusion rates and alleviate problems. This paper presents guidelines for the automotive industry generated from experiences and anthropometry of pregnant women, with the aim of improving safety for pregnant car occupants

Designing for safety during pregnancy through a system for automotive engineers

Pregnant women in the UK are legally required to wear seatbelts both as drivers and passengers. This paper considers fitting the seat belt correctly around the pregnant woman’s altered body and explores the ways of providing data to automotive engineers. The paper presents the difficulties experienced during pregnancy resulting from women’s altered shape and size. Accommodation of pregnant occupant anthropometry is key to improving seat belt use and positioning.An anthropometry website is presented with the aim of enhancing pregnant women’s quality of life through an improved seat belt design. The website has been designed to suit the needs of automotive designers and engineers to encourage them to consider pregnant occupant protectio

Measurements for pregnant drivers' comfort and safety

Pregnant women experience many different problems and difficulties with comfort and safety during car travel, which can be alleviated by accommodating pregnant women's anthropometry. There has been a dearth of information about pregnant anthropometry and subsequently women's needs have been neglected. This paper addresses the problem by presenting a detailed analysis of the anthropometric changes occurring throughout the body. The measurements have been selected for use in the vehicle design process, in order to best meet the needs of the automotive industry. The paper investigates the size and shape changes in pregnant women to calculate the possible exclusion rates for designs based on male and non-pregnant female data in order to help improving pregnant drivers' safety and comfort. The paper points out the importance of changes not only in the abdomen but also the chest and hip regions

'Expecting': occupant model incorporating anthropometric details of pregnant women

This study reports the research for a design tool related to pregnant women’s safety during car travel. Anthropometric measurements are taken to generate an occupant model incorporating pregnancy related changes. These anthropometric changes mean that a pregnant occupant may be excluded by the designs, based upon non-pregnant female anthropometry. The paper explains the generation of a comprehensive parametric computer aided model of a pregnant occupant, ‘Expecting’. The model can represent different size pregnant occupants as well as the size differences occurring in standing and seated postures. This model can be used as a design tool for automotive designers to help ensure that vehicle designs can accommodate the anthropometric needs of pregnant occupants