Appropriate frontal barrier tests for belted occupants

Vehicle damage from frontal impacts was classified and investigated together with injuries sustained by belted front seat occupants. The sample consisted of 1872 frontal crashes from the Midlands of England. Analysis focused on impacts with broad objects that might conceivably be simulated by a barrier test. Two asymmetrical front-end damage patterns were commonly identified, and these gave the greatest rates of non-minor (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) > or = 2) injuries in a range of Estimated Test Speeds from 35 to 52km/h which is the regime of current legislative crash tests. The most injurious type involved oblique damage caused by a substantial overlap of the struck object. The other type was from a small overlap. Objects struck and passenger compartment intrusions were compared. Appropriate asymmetrical and deformable barrier concepts were discussed. Other findings were connected with the future role of full face barriers as used in current tests such as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. Fuller overlaps (> 50%) tended to give more torso injuries rated > or = AIS 2 caused by seat belt loads and, at high speeds (53-79km/h), caused the most fatalities. Full overlaps (100%) rarely resulted in symmetrical intrusion into the passenger compartment.