Sonstige
Supported by field accident data and monitoring results of European Regulation (EC) No. 78/2009, recent plans of the European Commission regarding a way forward to improve passive safety of vulnerable road users include, amongst other things, an extension of the head test area. The inclusion of passive cyclist safety is also being considered by Euro NCAP. Although passenger car to cyclist collisions are often severe and have a significant share within the accident statistics, cyclists are neither considered sufficiently in the legislative nor in the consumer ratings tests. Therefore, a test procedure to assess the protection potential of vehicle fronts in a collision with cyclists has been developed within a current research project. For this purpose, the existing pedestrian head impact test procedures were modified in order to include boundary conditions relevant for cyclists as the second big group of vulnerable road users. Based on an in-depth analysis of passenger car to cyclist accidents in Germany the three most representative accident constellations have been initially defined. The development of the test procedure itself was based on corresponding simulations with representative vehicle and bicycle models. In addition to different cyclist heights, reaching from a 6-year-old child to a 95%-male, also four pedal positions were considered. By reconstruction of a real accident the defined simulation parameters could be validated in advance. The conducted accident kinematics analysis shows for a large portion of the constellations an increased head impact area, which can reach beyond the roof leading edge, as well as high average values for head impact velocity and angle. Based on the simulation data obtained for the different vehicle models, cyclist-specific test parameters for impactor tests have been derived, which have been further examined in the course of head and leg impact tests. In order to study the cyclist accident kinematics under real test conditions, different full scale tests with a Polar-II dummy positioned on a bicycle have been conducted. Overall, the tests showed a good correlation with the simulations and support the defined boundary test conditions. Typical accident scenarios and simulations reveal higher head impact locations, angles and velocities. An extended head impact area with modified test parameters will contribute to an improved protection of vulnerable road users including cyclists. However, due to significantly differing impact kinematics and postures between the lower extremities of pedestrians and cyclists, these injuries cannot be addressed by the means of current test tools such as the flexible pedestrian legform impactor FlexPLI. Based on the findings obtained within the project as well as the existing pedestrian protection requirements a cyclist protection test procedure for use in legislation and consumer test programmes has been developed, whose requirements have been transferred into a corresponding test specification. This specification provides common head test boundary conditions for pedestrians and cyclists, whereby the existing requirements are modified and two parallel test procedures are avoided.
Car occupants have a high level of mortality in road accidents, since passenger cars are the prevalent mode of transport. In 2013, car occupant fatalities accounted for 45% of all road accident fatalities in the EU. The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to car occupants in the European countries over a period of 10 years (2004-2013), through the exploitation of the EU CARE database with disaggregate data on road accidents. Data from the EU Injury Database for the period 2005 - 2008 are used to identify injury patterns, and additional insight into accident causation for car occupants is offered through the use of in-depth accident data from the EC SafetyNet project Accident Causation System (SNACS). The results of the analysis allow for a better understanding of the car occupants' safety situation in Europe, thus providing useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of road safety level in Europe.
This study is aimed to investigate the correlations of impact conditions and dynamic responses with the injuries and injury severity of child pedestrians by accident reconstruction. For this purpose, the pedestrian accident cases were selected from Sweden and Germany with detailed information about injuries, accident cars, and accident environment. The selected accident cases were reconstructed using mathematical models of pedestrian and passenger car. The pedestrian models were generated based on the height, weight, and age of the pedestrian involved in accidents. The car models were built up based on the corresponding accident car. The impact speeds in simulations were defined based on the reported data. The calculated physical quantities were analyzed to find the correlation with injury outcomes registered in the accident database. The reconstruction approaches are discussed in terms of data collection, estimating vehicle impact speeds, pedestrian moving speeds and initial posture, secondary ground impact, validity of the mathematical models, as well as impact biomechanics.
This study aimed at prediction of long bone fractures and assessment of lower extremity injury mechanisms in real world passenger car to pedestrian collision. For this purpose, two pedestrian accident cases with detail recorded lower limb injuries were reconstructed via combining MBS (Multi-body system) and FE (Finite element) methods. The code of PC Crash was used to determine the boundary conditions before collision, and then MBS models were used to reproduce the pedestrian kinematics and injuries during crash. Furthermore, a validated lower limb FE model was chosen to conduct reconstruction of injuries and prediction of long bone fracture via physical parameters of von Mises stress and bending moment. The injury outcomes from simulations were compared with hospital recorded injury data and the same long bone fracture patterns and positions can be observed. Moreover, the calculated long bone fracture tolerance corresponded to the outcome from cadaver tests. The result shows that FE model is capable to reproduce the dynamic injury process and is an effective tool to predict the risk of long bone fractures.
For the estimation of the benefit and effect of innovative Driver Assistance Systems (DAS) on the collision positions and by association on the accident severity, together with the economic benefit, it becomes necessary to simulate and evaluate a variety of virtual accidents with different start values (e.g. initial speed). Taken into account the effort necessary for a manual reconstruction, only an automated crash computation can be considered for this task. This paper explains the development of an automated crash computation based on GIDAS. The focus will be on the design of the virtual vehicle models, the method of the crash computation as well as exemplary applications of the automated crash computation. For the first time an automated crash computation of passenger car accidents has been realized. Using the automated crash computation different tasks within the field of vehicle safety can be elaborated. This includes, for example, the calculation of specific accident parameters (such as EES or delta-V) for various accident constellations and the estimation of the economic benefit of DAS using IRFs (Injury Risk Functions).
The Traffic Accident Research Institute at University of Technology Dresden investigates about 1,000 accidents annually in the area around and in Dresden. These datasets have been summarized and evaluated in the GIDAS (German Accident In-Depth Study) project for 13 years. During the project it became apparent that the specific traffic situation of a covert exit of a passenger car and an intersecting two-wheeler involves a high risk potential. This critical situation develops in a large part due to the lack of visibility between the driver and the intersecting bike. In this paper the accident avoidance potential of front camera systems with lateral field of view, which allows the driver to have an indirect sight into the crossing street area will be presented.
Detailed investigations and reconstructions of real accidents involving vulnerable road users
(2005)
The aim of this research is to improve knowledge about vulnerable road users accidents and more specifically pedestrians or cyclists. This work has been based on a complete analysis of real accidents. From accidents chosen from an in-depth multidisciplinary investigation (psychology, technical, medical), we have tried to identify the configuration of the impact: car speed, pedestrian or cyclist orientations. Then, we have made a numerical modelling of the same configuration with a multibody software. In particular, we have reproduced the anthropometry of the victim and the front shape of the car. A first simulation has been performed on this starting configuration. Next, effects of some parameters such as car velocity or victim position at impact have been numerically studied in order to find the best correlations with all indications produced by the in-depth analysis. Finally, the retained configuration was close to the presumed real accident conditions because it reproduces in particular the same impact points on the car, the same injuries, and is according to the driver statement. This double approach associating an in-depth accident analysis and a numerical simulation has been applied on pedestrian-to-car and bicyclist-tocar accidents. It has allowed us to better understand the real kinematics of such impacts. Even if this method is based on a case to case study, it underlines which parameters are relevant on a vulnerable road user accident investigation and reconstruction.
Real world accident reconstruction with the Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) in Pam-Crash
(2013)
Further improvement of vehicle safety needs detailed analysis of real world accidents. According to GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study) most car to car front accidents occur at mid-crash severity. In this range thoracic injuries already occur. In this study a real world frontal crash with mid-crash severity out of the AARU database was reconstructed. The selected car to car accident was reconstructed by AARU by means of pc-crash software in order to get the initial dynamic accident conditions. These initial conditions were used to reconstruct the complete accident in more detail using FE models for the car structure and the occupants. Occupant simulations were performed with FE HIII-dummy models and the THUMS using Pam-Crash code. An initial THUMS validation was performed in order to verify the model-´s biofidelity by means of table-top test simulations. THUMS bone stiffness values were modified to match the real word occupant age. A comparison between driver and passenger restraint system loading was done, as well as an injury prediction comparison between the HIII-dummy model and THUMS response for both cases. Detailed comparison between the HIII-dummy models and THUMS regarding thoracic loading are discussed.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Auswirkungen alternativer Antriebskonzepte auf die Fahrdynamik von Pkw. Es werden einleitend die konventionellen und alternativen Antriebskonzepte sowie Unterschiede in Hinblick auf die Fahrdynamik herausgearbeitet. Die Ergebnisse einer Recherche zur Fahrwerksentwicklung von Hybrid- und Elektrofahrzeugen zeigen keine klaren Trends zu neuartigen oder geänderten Fahrwerkskonzepten, sodass auf eine getrennte Betrachtung von Fahrwerken für Fahrzeuge mit konventionellen und alternativen Antrieben verzichtet werden kann. Die erarbeiteten Unterschiede zwischen konventionellen und alternativen Antrieben zeigen, dass die Möglichkeit der Rekuperation von Hybrid- und E-Fahrzeugen insbesondere bei kombinierten Längs- und Querkräften zu deutlichen Auswirkungen auf die Fahrdynamik führen kann. Im nächsten Schritt werden daher Fahrmanöver zusammengestellt und in Bezug auf die Relevanz für die Rekuperation analysiert. Dabei erweist sich das nach DIN ISO 7975 genormte Fahrmanöver "Bremsen im Kreis" als zielführend, die Auswirkungen der Rekuperation auf die Fahrdynamik zu analysieren. Außerdem wird das Fahrzeugverhalten bei einer Geradeausbremsung und folgender Lenkanregung sowie bei einer Bremsung auf μ-Split untersucht, da auch hier Wechselwirkungen von Antrieb und Fahrwerk auftreten. Zur Beurteilung der Ergebnisse wird neben der Fahrstabilität auch die Wahrnehmbarkeit eines geänderten Fahrverhaltens betrachtet. Anhand einer Literaturrecherche wurde für die Giergeschwindigkeit ein Schwellwert von 3-°/s für die Wahrnehmbarkeit gefunden. Die Ergebnisse einer Simulationsstudie mit zwei Fahrzeugkonzepten (Front-/Heckantrieb) in den drei genannten Fahrmanövern zeigen, dass die Rekuperation in weiten Bereichen der Längsverzögerungen sinnvoll eingesetzt werden kann. Bei der Bremsung in der Kurve führt die Rekuperation an der Vorderachse zu einer deutlichen Reduzierung störender Fahrzeugreaktionen und kann auch bei höheren Querbeschleunigungen verwendet werden. Bei der Rekuperation an der Hinterachse kann es insbesondere auf Niedrigreibwerten bei Bremsungen in der Kurve zu kritischen Fahrzuständen kommen. Durch die Begrenzung des Rekuperationsmomentes bei großen Schlupfwerten kann die Stabilität des Fahrzeugs jedoch sichergestellt werden. Auch die Ergebnisse der Simulationen der anderen Fahrmanöver zeigen, dass bei geringen Schlupfwerten keine wahrnehmbaren fahrdynamischen Unterschiede festzustellen sind.
Die verschärften Anforderungen an das Emissionsverhalten von Pkw und leichten Nutzfahrzeugen haben aufwändige Technologien erforderlich gemacht. Ein wesentlicher Bestandteil aktueller Abgasnachbehandlungssysteme ist der Katalysator. Wenn ein Katalysator beschädigt wird oder seine Wirksamkeit nachlässt, kann er durch einen Austauschkatalysator ersetzt werden. Austauschkatalysatoren, die im Zubehörmarkt angeboten werden, werden auf Basis der Regelung Nr. 103 der Wirtschaftskommission der Vereinten Nationen für Europa (UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) genehmigt. Entsprechend dieser Regelung muss der Austauschkatalysator so beschaffen sein und so eingebaut werden können, dass das Fahrzeug den Vorschriften der Regelungen entspricht, die bei seiner Typprüfung zu Grunde gelegt worden sind. Außerdem müssen die Schadstoffemissionen während der gesamten normalen Lebensdauer des Fahrzeuges unter normalen Betriebsbedingungen wirksam begrenzt werden. Im Rahmen des Forschungsvorhabens wurde die Dauerhaltbarkeit von Austauschkatalysatoren untersucht. Als Testfahrzeug wurde ein VW Golf der Abgasstufe Euro 4 mit einem 1.4-l-Benzinmotor (55 kW) ausgewaehlt. Bei Beginn der Untersuchungen wies das Fahrzeug eine Laufleistung von 75.500 km auf. Das ausgewählte Fahrzeug war regelmäßig entsprechend den Herstellervorgaben gewartet worden. Im OBD-System waren keine abgasrelevanten Fehler abgelegt. Bei der Eingangsmessung des Fahrzeuges im Anlieferungszustand mit dem ursprünglich verbauten Katalysator wurden die anzuwendenden Euro 4-Grenzwerte deutlich unterschritten. Anschließend wurden ein Original-Austauschkatalysator, der in einer markengebundenen Fachwerkstatt, und 4 Katalysatoren, die verdeckt im freien Teilemarkt beschafft worden waren, untersucht. Die Austauschkatalysatoren wurden entsprechend den Vorgaben der ECE Regelung Nr. 103 konditioniert und dann im Neuzustand vermessen. Anschließend wurden die Katalysatoren auf einem Brennerprüfstand gealtert. Dabei wurde eine Laufleistung von insgesamt 80.000 km simuliert. Nach 10.000 km und 40.000 km wurde die Alterung unterbrochen und die Abgasemissionen des Testfahrzeugs wurden mit den gealterten Katalysatoren gemessen. Sobald bei einem Katalysator eine Grenzwertüberschreitung festgestellt wurde, wurde die Untersuchung beendet. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung zeigen, dass bei im freien Teilemarkt erhältlichen Austauschsystemen zur Abgasnachbehandlung erhebliche Qualitätsunterschiede auftreten können. Nur mit dem Original-Austauschkatalysator und mit einem Austauschkatalysator, der im freien Markt beschafft worden war, konnten auch nach einer Alterung über 80.000 km die Euro 4 Grenzwerte eingehalten werden. Bei einem Austauschkatalysator wurden bereits im Neuzustand die Euro 4 Grenzwerte überschritten. Bei einem anderen Austauschkatalysator wurde die Untersuchung nach 10.000 km Alterung und bei einem weiteren Katalysator nach 40.000 km Alterung aufgrund einer Überschreitung der Euro 4 Grenzwerte abgebrochen. Die ECE Regelung Nr. 103 sieht eine Prüfung der Dauerhaltbarkeit derartiger Systeme über 80.000 km vor, ermöglicht jedoch alternativ die Verwendung von festen Verschlechterungsfaktoren. In der Praxis wird die Dauerhaltbarkeit der Austauschsysteme zur Abgasnachbehandlung von ihren Herstellern garantiert, eine Überprüfung findet im Rahmen der Genehmigung jedoch in den seltensten Fällen statt. Eine Feldüberwachung für Austauschsysteme zur Abgasnachbehandlung ist in den entsprechenden Vorschriften nicht vorgesehen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung weisen darauf hin, dass die Anforderungen in der ECE Regelung Nr. 103 nicht ausreichen, um die Dauerhaltbarkeit von Austauschkatalysatoren sicherzustellen.
High demands on exhaust emissions of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles require complex technologies. The three-way catalytic converter is an essential part of state of the art emission control systems. If a catalytic converter is damaged or its effectiveness deteriorates, it can be replaced by a replacement converter. Replacement catalytic converters from the aftermarket are approved on the basis of Regulation No 103 of the UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. According to this regulation the replacement catalytic converter shall be designed, constructed and capable of being mounted so as to enable the vehicle to comply with the provisions taken as a basis for its type approval. Furthermore the pollution emissions must be effectively limited throughout the entire normal service life of the vehicle under normal operating conditions. In the context of the research project, the durability of replacement catalytic converters was examined. A VW Golf with emission standard Euro 4, 1.4 l petrol engine (55 kW) was selected as a test vehicle. At the start of the examinations, the vehicle showed a mileage of 75,000 km. The selected vehicle was regularly serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. No emission-relevant faults were recorded by the OBD system. The initial control measurement of the vehicle in as-delivered condition with the originally installed catalytic converter showed that the corresponding emissions of the regulated pollutants were considerably below the Euro 4 emission limits to be applied. Subsequently, an original replacement catalytic converter, which was purchased from an authorised dealer, and 4 catalytic converters purchased in the independent aftermarket, were examined. The replacement catalytic converters were conditioned according to the specifications of ECE Regulation No 103 and then measured in new condition. The catalytic converters were then aged on a burner test rig. Here a total mileage of 80,000 km was simulated. After 10,000 km and 40,000 km, the ageing was interrupted and the exhaust gas emissions of the test vehicle with the aged catalytic converters were measured. The examination was ended as soon as a limit value had been exceeded. The results of the project indicate that with the replacement systems for the after-treatment of exhaust gases available in the independent aftermarket, considerable quality differences can occur. At the end of the ageing over a distance of 80,000 km only the original replacement catalytic converter and one replacement catalytic converter from the independent aftermarket complied with the Euro 4 emission limits. With one replacement catalytic converter, the Euro 4 emission limits were already exceeded in new condition. With another replacement catalytic converter, the examination was aborted after 10,000 km ageing and with a further catalytic converter after 40,000 km ageing due to the Euro 4 emission limits being exceeded. The ECE Regulation No 103 provides for a test of durability of such systems over 80,000 km, but also alternatively enables the use of fixed deterioration factors. In practice, the durability of the replacement systems for the after-treatment of exhaust gases is guaranteed by their manufacturers. However, replacement catalytic converters are rarely inspected as part of the approval. In-use compliance provisions for replacement systems for the after-treatment of exhaust gases are not mentioned in the corresponding specifications. The results of this study indicate that the requirements in the ECE Regulation No 103 are not adequate to ensure the durability of replacement catalytic converters.
Mobilität spielt in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland eine wichtige Rolle. Dabei ist der motorisierte Individualverkehr und somit der Pkw-Verkehr die entscheidende Größe. Der Verkehr soll umweltgerecht, sozialverträglich aber auch gleichzeitig wirtschaftlich effizient sein. Entscheidend für die Schadstoffbelastung der Umwelt durch den Straßenverkehr sind die Abgasemissionen der im Verkehr befindlichen Fahrzeuge. Daher wurde mit der Richtlinie 98/69/EG und der damit verbundenen Einführung der Abgasstufe Euro 3 erstmalig die Prüfung der Konformität von in Betrieb befindlichen Personenkraftwagen und leichten Nutzfahrzeugen (Feldüberwachung) eingeführt. Dabei sollen bereits im Verkehr befindliche Fahrzeuge nach einer statistischen Auswahl unter Typprüfbedingungen (Typ I Test) erneut untersucht werden. So soll gewährleistet werden, dass die abgasrelevanten Systeme und Bauteile eines Fahrzeuges auch noch nach mehreren tausend Kilometern funktionieren. Deshalb werden die Fahrzeuge bei der Feldüberwachung auf ihre limitierten Schadstoffkomponenten ein weiteres Mal überprüft. Aufgrund der immer größeren Bedeutung der CO2-Emissionen wurden in diesem Forschungsvorhaben sowohl die CO2-Emissionen als auch der Kraftstoffverbrauch mit erfasst. Für den Erfolg eines solchen Projektes ist die Fahrzeugauswahl von entscheidender Bedeutung. Denn nur so ist es möglich auch ein repräsentatives Ergebnis zu erhalten. Deshalb wurden neben den gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen Auswahlkriterien auch statistische und technische Kriterien berücksichtigt. Dabei erfolgte die Auswahl der Fahrzeughalter nach dem Zufallsprinzip. Alle Prüffahrzeuge wurden im Abgaslabor, entsprechend ihrer Abgasnorm, auf ihre Schadstoffkomponenten überprüft. Gemäß der Gesetzgebung gelten bei einer Feldüberwachung die gleichen Prüfbedingungen wie bei der jeweiligen Typgenehmigung. In diesem Forschungsvorhaben wurden insgesamt 17 Fahrzeugtypen untersucht. Wobei 6 Typen mit Fremdzündungsmotor und 11 Typen mit Selbstzündungsmotor ausgestattet waren. Beide Gruppen sollten jeweils Fahrzeuge der Grenzwertstufen Euro 4 und Euro 5 beinhalten. Bei den Fahrzeugtypen mit Fremdzündungsmotor war ein Typ mit der Abgasnorm Euro 5, alle anderen erfüllten die Abgasnorm Euro 4. Bei den Fahrzeugtypen mit Selbstzündungsmotor erfüllten 4 Typen die Abgasstufe Euro 5 und 7 Typen entsprachen der Abgasstufe Euro 4. Unter den Fahrzeugtypen mit Kompressionszündung und der Abgasnorm Euro 4 befanden sich 4 Typen der Klasse M1 und 3 Typen der Klasse N1 der Gruppe III. Ziel des Forschungsvorhabens ist es, die Abgasemissionen von in Betrieb befindlichen Pkw und leichten Nutzfahrzeugen zu untersuchen, um so Rückschlüsse auf die Dauerhaltbarkeit von Motorkomponenten und Systemen zur Abgasnachbehandlung ziehen zu können. Insgesamt konnten bei dieser Feldüberwachung, gemäß dem statistischen Verfahren, alle 17 geprüften Fahrzeugtypen mit "positiv" bewertet werden. Mit Ausnahme eines Fahrzeugtyps, wurde bei allen untersuchten Fahrzeugtypen, die Stichprobe mit der Mindeststichprobengröße abgeschlossen. Das bedeutet, dass alle 3 Fahrzeuge eines Typs im Anlieferungszustand die jeweiligen Grenzwerte für Schadstoffemissionen gemäß den Kriterien des statistischen Verfahrens einhielten bzw. unterschritten. Nur bei einem Fahrzeugtyp war die Erhöhung der Stichprobe auf 8 Fahrzeuge erforderlich. Weiterhin wurden bei allen Fahrzeugtypen die CO2-Emissionen und der Kraftstoffverbrauch (Typ I Test) bestimmt, um anschließend die gemessenen CO2-Emissionen mit denen der Hersteller vergleichen zu können. Von den 17 untersuchten Fahrzeugtypen hielten elf Fahrzeugtypen die jeweiligen Herstellerangaben ein oder unterschritten diese. Bei sechs Fahrzeugtypen lagen die CO2-Emissionen um mehr als die bei der Typprüfung zulässigen 4% über der Herstellerangabe.
Mobility plays an important role in the Federal Republic of Germany. Motorised private transport and, consequently, passenger vehicles are the crucial factor. Vehicles should be environmentally and socially compatible yet also economically efficient at the same time. The crucial factor for pollution of the environment from road traffic is the exhaust emissions of the vehicles on the road. This is why, with the Directive 98/69/EC and the related introduction of exhaust emission standard Euro 3, the testing of the conformity of passenger and light commercial vehicles (in-service conformity check) was introduced. Vehicles already on the roads are to be examined again under type examination conditions (Type I Test) after a statistical selection process. In this way it is to be ensured that the systems and components relevant for the exhaust emissions of a vehicle will also function after several thousand kilometres. This is why the vehicles are checked again during in-service conformity check with respect to their limited pollution components. Due to the ever greater significance of CO2 emissions, both the CO2 emissions and the fuel consumption were included in this research project. For the success of such a project the choice of vehicle is of critical importance. Since this is the only way it is possible to also obtain a representative result. Therefore, in addition to the selection criteria required by law, statistical and technical criteria are also considered. The vehicle owners were selected on a random basis. All test vehicles were checked with respect to their pollutant components in the emissions laboratory in accordance with their standard. By law the same testing conditions apply in an in-service conformity check as in the relevant type approval. In this research project a total of 17 vehicle types were examined. Six types were equipped with positive-ignition engines and 11 types with compression ignition engines. Both groups were to each include vehicles of the limits Euro 4 and Euro 5. For vehicle types with positive-ignition engines, there was one type with the exhaust emission standard Euro 5. All others satisfied the exhaust emission standard Euro 4. For the vehicle types with compression ignition engines, 4 types satisfied exhaust emission standard Euro 5 and 7 types fulfilled exhaust emission standard Euro 4. Among the vehicle types with compression ignition and exhaust emission standard Euro4, there were 4 types of category M1 and 3 types of category N1 of class III. The aim of the research project is to examine the exhaust emissions in-service conformity of passenger and light commercial vehicles in operation to draw conclusions concerning the durability of engine components and systems for exhaust emission treatment. Overall in this in-service conformity testing programme, we were able, in accordance with the statistical procedure, to assess all 17 of the vehicle types tested as "positive". With the exception of one vehicle type, it was possible to conclude the random test for all vehicle types tested with the minimum random sample. This means that all 3 vehicles of one type in as-delivered condition complied with or fell below the respective limits for pollutant emissions according to the criteria of the statistical procedure. In the case of one vehicle type, where the random sample had to be enlarged, it was necessary to examine a total of 8 vehicles. Furthermore, with all vehicle types the CO2-emissions and fuel consumption (Type I Test) were determined to subsequently compare the measured CO2 emissions with those of the manufacturers. Of the 17 vehicle types examined, eleven vehicle types complied with the relevant manufacturers" values or fell below them. With six vehicle types, the CO2 emissions were more than the permissible 4% above the manufacturer- value during the Type I Test.
In the course of the EUROPEAN PROJECT TRACE all fatally injured pedestrians autopsied at the Institute for Legal Medicine in Munich in 2004 had been analysed by using the "Human Functional Failure (HFF) analysis" method. It was possible to apply this method although some restrictions have to be taken into account. The results derived from this analysis comprise first the failures the pedestrians (most often "impairment of sensorimotor and cognitive abilities") and the opponents (most often " Non-detection in visibility constraints conditions") faced in the accident, second the conflicts and tasks (pedestrian crossing the street conflicting with a vehicle from the side (which was going ahead on a straight road), the degree of accident involvement (pedestrians often the primary active part), and further the contributing factors to the accident (pedestrians most often "alcohol (> 0.05% BAC)", opponents most often "visibility constraints").
Recent findings from real-world accident data have shown that fatality risks for pedestrians are substantially lower than generally reported in the traffic safety literature. One of the keys to this insight has been the large and random sample of car-to-pedestrian crashes available in the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS). Another key factor has been the proper use of weight factors in order to adjust for outcome-based sampling bias in the accident data. However, a third factor, a priori of unknown importance, has not yet been properly analysed. This is the influence of errors in impact speed estimation. In this study, we derived a statistical model of the impact speed errors for pedestrian accidents present in the GIDAS database. The error model was then applied to investigate the effect of the estimation error on the pedestrian fatality risk as a function of car impact speed. To this end, we applied a method known as the SIMulation-EXtrapolation (SIMEX) method. It was found that the risk curve is fairly tolerant to some amount of random measurement error, but that it does become flattened. It is therefore important that the accident investigations and reconstructions are of high quality to assure that systematic errors are minimised and that the random errors are under control.
New vehicle types are extensively tested to check almost all factors that influence ride and handling. With reference to the Association of German Car Tuners" (VDAT e.V.) valuations, approximately 10% of all cars in Germany are being modified by their owners. 28 % of those modifications" sales are divergent wheel-tire combinations, 13 % are tuning measures on the chassis suspension or wheel spacers. In almost all cases the singular modifications present a general permission for specific vehicles they have been tested in. Combined tuning measures, however, are often checked by just one inspector, following a procedure of mostly subjective assessment criteria. Today, critical attributes are only being observed, in case a vehicle is involved in an accident and the modifications are identified as crash causal factors or as a cofactor on the development of a crash. For the first time, a field study allows a survey of safety affecting chassis modifications. The test layout has to comply with some basic conditions. Different vehicle concepts with a wide margin of modifications are required to get a high transferability of the results. A total amount of more than 150 tested vehicles serves the same purpose. The tests are limited concerning the installation time of measurement techniques and the requirement that no damage, defilement or immoderate wear of the vehicles are accepted by their owners. Due to such factors as well as the driver Ìs acceptance, the vehicles are controlled by its owners instead of robots or test drivers. For keeping down the driver- influence, the lane has narrow boundaries and the driver has to drive in strictly adherence to the given instructions. After gathering all modifications, as well as static and kinematic parameters like the toe and camber angle, dynamic testing of predominantly lateral dynamics is conducted. Besides standardized tests like the ISO 3888-2 (Obstacle Avoidance) or the ISO 14512 (Braking on Surfaces with Split Coefficient of Friction), to test the influence of modified kingpin offsets caused by wheel spacers, some deviant tests are conducted. Those are required due to the demand of objective test results for road tests with vertical induced stimulation of the chassis suspension. Hence, new tests on corner braking with and without vertical stimulation have been developed. The interpretation of data includes thresholds, e.g. the maximum entrance velocity without hitting cones, on the one hand, and the analysis of characteristics of data concerning time and frequency range, "1-second values" and peak response times on the other hand. Besides the thresholds as indicators for the achievable velocities, which are mainly affected by friction coefficients, the vehicle reaction in the course of time characterizes the vehicle reaction in the threshold range and consequently the operational demands on the driver. The field study has started and promises the first long-range analysis of chassis modifications. The results offer a basis for hypothesis and resultant further test layouts for oncoming studies of the identified critical tuning measures.
Today's volumes of traffic require more and more responsibility from each individual road user in their interactions. Those who drive motor vehicles have the singular obligation to minimise the risk of accidents and hence the severity of injuries, particularly with a view to the most vulnerable road users such as motor bikes, bikes and pedestrians. Since responsible and pro-active driving depends first and foremost on the visual information relayed by our eyes and the visual channel this requires good command of the traffic and all-round visibility from our driver's seat. Granted that human error can never be fully excluded, improving visibility around the car is nevertheless an urgent priority. To do so, we need to rate visibility in the most realistic driving situations. Since the existing visibility metrics and methodology are not applicable to real-life driving situations, this study aimed at developing a new visibility rating methodology based on real-life accident scenarios. On the basis of the cases documented by the accident research project, this study analysed criteria indicative of diminishing visibility on the one hand and revealing some peculiarities in connection with the visibility issue on the other. Based on the above, the project set out to develop a rating methodology allowing to assess all-round visibility in various road situations taking into account both driver and road geometries. In this context, the assessment of visibility while turning a corner, crossing an intersection and joining traffic on a major road (priority through route) is of major importance. The first tests have shown that critical situations can be avoided by adapting the relevant geometries and technical solutions and that significant improvements of road safety can be derived therefrom.
Pedestrian accidents are one of the major concerns related with road accidents around the world. Portugal has one of the highest rates of pedestrian fatalities in Europe. In this paper an overview conditions were the pedestrian accidents occurred in Portugal is presented. In the last years, a project related with the pedestrian accidents has run in Portugal for the period 2004-2006 where 603 people died, 2097 have been severely injured and about 17000 slightly injured. Within this project all the pedestrian accidents in this period have been analysed providing global information about a wide range of aspects, since location, driver and pedestrian characteristics, weather and road conditions, among others. In addition, 50 in-depth accidents have been investigated and the data collected according the Pendant methodology. For this in-depth methodology detailed information about the accident has been collected, including injuries, vehicle damage, road conditions and road user- behaviour and actions. An accident reconstruction has been carried for each case including the determination of the speeds and driver actions, and the analysis of the contributing factors for the accident. Depending of the accident complexity, different methodologies have been used to analyse these accident, from the classical analytical equations such as Simms and Woods, to the use of detailed computational pedestrian models as those included in the commercial software- PC-Crash-® or Madymo-®. Also one of the goals of our investigation is the development of multibody models and methodologies for the reconstruction of pedestrian accidents. Some of these tools integrated in the commercial software Cosmos Motion-® are presented. The advantages of the different approaches are compared and discussed for some of the accidents investigated. With these tools the impact speed can be determined from the projection distance with analytical tools or PC-Crash-®, but more complex tools should be used to determine speed from the injuries, what is especially important for fatal accidents. The influence of the vehicle geometry and stiffness characteristics is another aspect analysed, where the influence of the vehicle stiffness has been determined using a combined multibody-finite elements approach within the software Madymo-®.
Die hier vorgestellten Forschungsprojekte hatten die Aufgabenstellung, - sinnvolle Obergrenzen für den biogenen Blend-Anteil im Kraftstoff aus ökonomisch-technischer Sicht aufzuzeigen sowie - technische Anforderungen an Pkw aus Altbestand und Neufahrzeugen für den Betrieb mit solchen Kraftstoff-Blends zu untersuchen, insbesondere in Hinblick auf Aspekte der Dauerhaltbarkeit. Auf Basis einer umfangreichen Literaturrecherche wurden zunächst sinnvolle Beimischungen ermittelt, die in 5 Fahrzeugen (3 Otto-Pkw, 2 Diesel-Pkw) auf einem Abgasrollenprüfstand getestet wurden. Anschließend wurden zwei Fahrzeuge einer Dauerlaufuntersuchung (ca. 80.000 km) unterzogen. Hierbei wurden u. a. Emissionsverhalten, Kraftstoffverbrauch und Motorleistung bewertet und Motorölproben entnommen. Am Ende der Dauerlaufuntersuchungen wurden bei beiden Fahrzeugen Motor und Kraftstoffsystem sorgfältig inspiziert. Aus fahrzeugtechnischer Sicht begrenzen bei Biodiesel vor allem die Ölverdünnung sowie der Anstieg der NOx-Emissionen den maximal möglichen Beimischungsanteil. Bei Bio-Alkohol sind insbesondere die Materialverträglichkeit und der Kraftstoffverbrauch limitierende Faktoren für erhöhte Beimischungen. Obwohl die betrachteten Euro-5-Fahrzeuge nicht für den Betrieb mit erhöhten Beimengungen an Biokraftstoffen ausgelegt waren, wurden die maßgeblichen Grenzwerte für die limitierten Emissionen im Verlauf der Untersuchungen nicht überschritten. Mit Ausnahme von NOx bei den Dieselfahrzeugen wurden darüber hinaus sogar die Euro-6-Grenzwerte unterschritten.
The increase in light duty trucks (LDT) on the road in the US is a safety concern because of their aggressivity, or risk they present to occupants of cars, especially in side impacts. We use FARS data to look at fatality trends in frontal and side impacts between cars and LDT. FARS data is also used to determine risk, or fatalities per registered vehicle, imposed on car drivers from other vehicle types. We use NASS CDS data to investigate sources of serious injuries in vehicles with side impact. These sources of injury are categorized into three major groups: 1) contact without intrusion, 2) contact with intrusion, and 3) restraints. We find a greater fraction of intrusion related injuries in cars struck on their side by SUV or pick-up trucks than when they are struck by other cars.