Potential Applications for the Movable Barrier in Vehicle Crash Testing

There is a stark disparity in motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries between male and female drivers. Female drivers are 13% more likely to be killed than their male counterparts in similar motor accidents. However, vehicle safety test practices do not account for diverse body proportions when assessing safety outcomes. Vehicle crash testing standards only require testing of two variations of adult-sized crash test dummies: a 50th percentile male and a 5th percentile female. Automotive companies are not required to test safety outcomes in crash test model’s representative of average female proportions or of non-average body sizes and physiological compositions. Current crash test standards are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the US Department of Transportation. This memo proposes three actions for the NHTSA and the Department of Transportation to address disparities in vehicle safety outcomes: 1) update safety standard requirements to include a 50th percentile female crash test dummy, 2) implement a federal tax incentive program for companies to include a greater diversity of vehicle occupant models, and 3) allocate funds for research and development of virtual crash testing models. These proposed initiatives seek to raise the minimum safety requirements and prioritize wider representation of vehicle occupants to improve parity in vehicle safety outcomes.

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Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers

10.1520/f2656-07 ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Test Method ◽

Crash Testing ◽

Vehicle Crash

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Long-Span Guardrail System for Culvert Applications

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1720-03 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1720 (1) ◽

pp. 19-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ronald K. Faller ◽

Dean L. Sicking ◽

Karla A. Polivka ◽

John R. Rohde ◽

Bob W. Bielenberg

Keyword(s):

Simulation Modeling ◽

Research Study ◽

Full Scale ◽

Wood Block ◽

Long Span ◽

Crash Testing ◽

Vehicle Crash ◽

Level 3 ◽

Crash Tests ◽

Test Level

A long-span guardrail for use over low-fill culverts was developed and successfully crash tested. The guardrail system was configured with 30.48 m of nested, 12-gauge W-beam rail and centered around a 7.62-m-long unsupported span. The nested W-beam rail was supported by 16 W152×13.4 steel posts and 6 standard CRT posts, each with two 150-mm×200×360 mm wood block-outs. Each post was 1830 mm long. Post spacings were 1905 mm on center, except for the 7.62-m spacing between the two CRT posts surrounding the long span. The research study included computer simulation modeling with Barrier VII and full-scale vehicle crash testing, using 3/4-ton (680-kg) pickup trucks in accordance with the Test Level 3 (TL-3) requirements specified in NCHRP Report 350. Three full-scale vehicle crash tests were performed. The first test was unsuccessful because of severe vehicle penetration into the guardrail system. This penetration resulted from a loss of rail tensile capacity during vehicle redirection when the swagged fitting on the cable anchor assembly failed. A second test was performed on the same design, which contained a new cable anchor assembly. During vehicle redirection, the pickup truck rolled over and the test was considered a failure. The long-span system was subsequently redesigned to incorporate double block-outs on the CRT posts and crash tested again. Following the successful third test, the long-span guardrail system was determined to meet TL-3 criteria.

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