Impact Project: Searching For Solution To The Underride Problem

Rear underride crashes kill thousands of people yearly worldwide. Underride guards did not follow the progress achieved by the automotive safety technology. Searching for solutions to this problem, two new guards have been designed and three crash tests carried out. A new articulated, an energy absorbing conceptual guard and a guard constructed according to the European (ECE-R58) regulation were tested. Both the new guards could avoid underride, the ECE-R58 one could not. The tests pointed out that the new articulated guard could be used after a few modifications and the conceptual one needs further optimization to become commercially feasible. © 1998 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.Schmutzler, L.O.F., Brazil's heavy vehicle rear underride problem: A technical-judicial- social and political challenge (1997) SAE Heavy Vehicle Underride Protection TOPTEC, , Palm Springs-USA, Apr. 15-16, 1997Rechnitzer, G., Scott, G., Murray, N.W., The reduction of injuries to car occupants in rear end impacts with heavy vehicles (1993) 37th STAPP Car Crash Conference, , http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/933123, Nov. 8-10, 1993, San Antonio, Texas. SAE Paper 933123, Society of Automotive Engineering, IncRechnitzer, G., Wai, F.C., (1991) Truck Involved Crash Study: Fatal and Injury Crashes of Cars into the Rear of Trucks, , Monash University Accident Research Centre, Melbourne. Report n o 26Schmutzler, L.O.F., An underride guard design for the Brazilian traffic environment: Working for a solution (1997) SAE Heavy Vehicle Underride Protection TOPTEC, , Palm Springs-USA, Apr. 15-16, 1997Rechnitzer, G., (1993) Fatal and Injury Crashes of Cars and Other Road Users with the Front and Sides of Heavy Vehicles, , Monash University Accident Research Centre, Melbourne. Report n o 35Rechnitzer, G., Powell, C., Seyer, K., Development and testing of energy absorbing rear under-run barriers for heavy vehicles (1996) 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles, , Melbourne, Australia, May 13-17, 1996Rechnitzer, G., Design principles for underride guards and crash test results (1997) SAE Heavy Vehicle Underride Protection TOPTEC, , Palm Springs-USA, Apr. 15-16(1995), CONTRAN-Resolução no. 805/95. Conselho Nacional de Trânsito, October 24, 1995Mariolani, J.R.L., Arruda, A.C.F., Santos, P.S.P., Mazarin, J.C., Stellute, J.C., Design and test of an articulated rear guard able to prevent car underride. VI International Mobility Technology Conference and Exhibit (1997) SAE Paper 973106, , Oct. 27-29, São Paulo, Brazil. Society of Automotive Engineers, IncHome Page of the Impact Project, , http://www.cte.unicamp.br/impac