In Europe & Japan, new legislation will come into effect from autumm 2005, which aims to reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries.

These pedestrian protection legal requirements are a new challenge for the automotive industry, deeply influencing front end styling, package, design & the complete development process. In the pedestrian tests for Type Approval, free-flying head, upper & lower leg impactors will be propelled aginst the vehicle front end. The vehicle must absorb these low impact energies by means of a “pedestrianfriendly soft nose”, to ensure acceptable injury values. The size & shape of the pedestrian protection test impact areas are largely determined by the exterior styling theme.

When satisfying pedestrian protection, other vehicle requirements, e.g. insurance classification, panel dent resistance of diverse panels, high speed crash and hood slam tests must also be fulfilled. During vehicle development, all these loadcases must be balanced to produce the best possible vehicle.

The new Opel ZAFIRA II is General Motors´ first car worldwide which will provide a “soft-nose design” to comply with the new legal requirements in Japan and Europe Phase 1. The ZAFIRA will be launched in spring 2005.

In the new ZAFIRA II, specially developed passive deformation elements absorb impactor energies. Other components may collapse to decrease stiffness and increase deformation space. The lightweight thin steel hood is designed to ensure decreased acceleration values for the head impactors together with homogenous hood stiffness. In the lower bumper fascia area, a spoiler improves the lower leg impactor kinematics by reducing knee bending.

This presentation shows the Opel ZAFIRA´s pedestrian protection measures and reports on Opel´s experience gained in making a car more pedestrian-friendly.