Seat belt effectiveness for heavy truck occupants during a collision

Horii, Mitsuo; Yamazaki, Kunio; Amemiya, Yuji

Affiliations

¹Japan Automobile Research Institute, Inc.

²Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc., Japan

Abstract

In spite of the abundance of passenger car seat belt studies in various related fields, seat belt tests and studies for heavy trucks, which are substantially different in body structure from passenger cars, have been the minority.

To obtain basic data for evaluating the seat belt effectiveness of heavy trucks, the following were studied:

The analysis of prediction of ratios by which the effectiveness of seat belts, based on a statistical study of accidents involving heavy trucks.
Sled tests were conducted by simulating the barrier impacts of heavy trucks, and the magnitude of impact on the occupant wearing seat belts and not wearing them was compared.
And the tests were conducted with different sled floor acceleration, impact speed, and their influence on occupant behavior was studied.

The results of the above 1) - 3), and their analysis results are reported as the first step in safety study for heavy truck occupants.

Cited Works (2)

Year	Entry
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1985	Riley BS, Penoyre S, Bates HJ. Protecting car occupants, pedestrians, and cyclists in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles by using front underrun bumpers and sideguards. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). July 1-4, 1985; Oxford, England.883-896. SAE 856101.

Cited By (3)

Year	Entry
2001	Simon MC, Botto P, Page Y, Paulhet F. The potential gain to be achieved by generalization of seat belts and airbags in trucks. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 4-7, 2001; Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2003	Svenson AL, Krishnaswami V, Blower D. An analysis of heavy truck occupant protection measures. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.
1989	Danner M, Langwieder K, Appel H, Middelhauve V. Passive safety measures for trucks: effectiveness and priorities. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). May 29–June 1, 1989; Göteborg, Sweden.179-192.