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Research interest in passenger car side impacts has included creation of hypothetical models to simulate the real-life collision. Also, controlled testing has involved development of new side impact dummies, moveable barriers and various impact configurations whose characteristics will allow comparison of the controlled collision to real life. An important addition to this research is the interpretation of evidence available in the real-life side impacts themselves. This paper critiques the field work which identifies the character of the real-life side impacts through discussion of the practical difficulties encountered in documenting these events. Relevant issues include difficulties and necessity for accurate and relevant measurements; the problems related to calculation of door velocity are discussed in the context of latch/hinge failures during the impact and damage caused by emergency personnel.

Currently, one of the major challenges for automotive engineers is to provide additional protection to motor vehicle occupants involved in side-impact collisions. A considerable amount of research is being conducted into this problem by governments and motor vehicle manufacturers on a worldwide basis. Changes to the current safety standards relating to side impact protection have been proposed in both North America and Europe. The proposed standards involve the use of dummies in collisions between a moving barrier and a stationary test vehicle. A total of 22 side impact tests of production vehicles have been completed to date to assess the appropriateness of the test procedures developed in the U.S. and Europe in the context of the Canadian vehicle mix and associated side impact accident problem. Vehicle performance rankings provided by the two test procedures were found to vary greatly.