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Diffuse brain injuries are very common in side impacts, accounting for more than half of the injuries to the head. These injuries are often sustained in less severe side impacts. An English investigation has shown that diffuse brain injuries often originate from interior contacts, most frequently with the side window. They are believed to be mainly caused by quick head rotational motions. This paper describes a test method using a Hybrid III dummy head in a wire pendulum. The head impacts a simulated side window or an inflatable device, called the Inflatable Curtain (IC), in front of the window, at different speeds, and at different impact angles. The inflated IC has a thickness of around 70 mm and an internal (over) pressure of 1.5 bar. The head was instrumented with a three axis accelerometer as well as an angular velocity sensor measuring about the vertical (z) axis. The angular acceleration was calculated.

Injuries to motorcyclists lead to permanent disability more often than injuries to car occupants (10 percent versus 6 percent). The use of helmets has decreased the risk of head injuries. Other injuries leading to permanent disability are currently concentrated on the extremities (about 70 percent). Almost all are due to fractures located in joints where knees, elbows, shoulders, and ankles are the modest common spots. In a study based on 200 motorcycle accidents, it was shown the existing protective clothing had no effect on the incidence of fractures to knees, elbows, and shoulders. Based on that knowledge, a new motorcycle suit was constructed. The main goal was to find a shock-absorbing material to protect knees, elbows, and shoulders in an accident. Confor Foam, a medium-density urethane foam, was tested and found to possess relevant characteristics.

The level at which forces are transmitted from the striking vehicle in side impacts may influence the response of the struck car in several different ways. A better contact between the front bumper of the striking and the sill area of the struck car has been considered to be desirable in this respect. In side impacts, the most frequent direction of the impact is from 3 and 9 o'clock, while the direction of the forces is usually from 2 and 10 o'clock due to the velocity of the struck car. A European car and the EEVC moving deformable barrier have, therefore, been used in a crabbed mode to study the problem of load transfer at different levels above the ground. Volvo and Saab cars were used as targets in 55 km/h side impact with an APROD-81 side impact dummy placed on the struck side in the front seat. The results indicate that a difference in the level at which the loads were applied could influence the deformations, the kinematics of the struck cars, and the loading of the occupant.

Improvement of pedestrian safety is considered a priority in crash injury protection. Dummies, however, are not able to give a humanlike and repeatable impact response in pedestrian tests. The Biomechanical Laboratory of ONSER in France and the Department of Traffic Safety of Chalmers University in Götheborg, Sweden have designed a new dummy for pedestrian testing. The dummy is designed according to the latest available anthropometric and biomechanical data. Its symmetry around the vertical axis allows repeatability for the kinematic and injury parameters. It allows a measurement of uncommon biomechanical parameters related to injury mechanisms. Its leg is instrumented to determine the distribution of forces and momenta applied to the leg.

Sweden's accidents have increased in the past three years. The number of vehicles on the road has also increased. The increase in two-wheeler accidents was so dramatic that the Swedish Government appointed a special group of experts to assess areas of possible improvement. The group's recommendations are outlined

A short review of the development of performance requirements for child restraint systems and a summary of the present situation as revealed at the recent SAE Child Injury and Restraint Conference are given in this paper. It has taken a long time to arrive at dynamic performance standards in North America as well as in Europe. The present rate of child restraint usage is encouraging and yet not sufficiently high, although more children than ever are now protected by good systems. The reported high rate of misuse of restraint systems indicates that there is need for further improvements. Efforts in this direction should take into account the standard performance requirements, the specification of child dummies, problems of convenience and the design of vehicles. A close cooperation between North America and Europe in this respect would be mutually beneficial.

The present situation as regards child restraints in Sweden is described. The concept of having small children travelling in rearward facing child seats in the front seat of the car is discussed, based on 15 years experience of these systems in use. Booster systems which allow the older children to use existing adult belts have been bought for more than 50% of the children the last years and some aspects of this development are presented. The development of a special booster seat for handicapped children as well as the present situation on the European legislative work are also reported.

An ordinary rigid bumper system and a compliant bumper system for pedestrian protection developed by the NHTSA, US Department of Transportation, were compared in an experimental study of leg injuries in car-pedestrian accidents. Human leg specimens were struck in 20 experiments with a production car front using the two bumper types. Impacts were made with an ordinary front configuration with the bumpers at the 45 cm level and a 12.5 cm lower front configuration with the bumpers at the 32.5 cm level. The impact velocity was 30-32 km/h. Serious leg injuries were noted with both front configurations and bumper types. The compliant bumper seemed to cause less serious injuries than the rigid one, and the lower front configuration seemed to cause less serious injuries than the ordinary one. A lower bumper level than today's standard and a compliant bumper type is recommended in combination to reduce the risk of serious leg injuries in car-pedestrian accidents.

The response of a restrained car occupant to deceleration patterns recorded at barrier impacts with European compact cars is studied by using a simple model in an analog computer. In order to illustrate the general influence of restraint characteristics and slack, the occupant is defined as one solid mass and restraints are characterized by linear load-elongation functions of different stiffness. Various degrees of slack are introduced by delaying the response until a predetermined displacement has occurred between occupant and vehicle. Peak accelerations and total displacements of the occupant as a function of slack are given. The substitution of actual deceleration-time patterns from barrier impacts by simpler functions of similar shape shows that average deceleration rather than single peaks of short duration in the input function govern the response of the restrained occupant.

Small children as automobile occupants need support in normal driving at turning and braking and protection in accidents at collisions and roll-overs. Ordinary restraints, such as the adult seat belt, are less suitable for children between one and six years, mainly because the body proportions are different in children. A protective seat, adequately rigid and resistant to penetration, with a high, shock-absorbing back rest, can be placed facing rearwards in the front seat of the car. After extensive testing, such a seat is now being manufactured in Sweden.