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The causes of injuries suffered by drivers in “small-overlap frontal crashes” (SOFC) were examined. These crashes were defined as ones in which vehicles are loaded outside their longitudinal side members. SOFC accident data sets stored in the National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) database were investigated. Percentages of cases sustaining injury to each body region of drivers were calculated, and the differences between the percentages of injury by body region were examined. To investigate the injury mechanisms, SOFC tests with two types of rigid barrier were then conducted. Injury values in each body region were analyzed to validate the reproducibility of SOFC test as a relevant test.

It has been pointed out that in some cases it is difficult to match stiffnesses between vehicles in vehicle-to-vehicle (V-to-V) impacts, which is considered to be one of the main issues for improving frontal impact compatibility, and fixed barrier tests such as new car assessment programs. Impact tests using a moving deformable barrier (MDB) have been regarded as one of the promising measures to resolve this situation. As an initial step in researching vehicle-to-MDB (V-to-MDB) frontal impact tests, the aim of this work was to develop an MDB-honeycomb that can simulate the vehicle behavior in a V-to-V impact. A small sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and a mid-size sedan were selected as the model vehicles, and a method was developed for determining the specifications of the MDB-honeycomb from geometric data and the results of fixed-barrier tests of the model vehicles.