Citation

Rich A, Cofone J. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2012; 22(2): 21-23.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although side impact tests conducted under the mandates of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 214 (FMVSS 214) can be used to calculate side stiffness coefficients for vehicles that have been involved in impacts with wooden utility poles, analyses of these tests indicate that the vehicles do not stop at impact with the pole. Instead, the vehicle bounces off the pole, translates and rotates. This article summarizes a study that was conducted to investigate the effect of post-impact kinetic energy on calculation of A- and B-stiffness coefficients of test vehicles. Findings from ten FMVSS 214 tests were statistically analyzed to determine the effect of ignoring the test vehicle's post-impact motion on the calculated equivalent barrier speed. The analysis shows that ignoring post-impact kinetic energy results in an overestimation of equivalent barrier speed of less than one mile per hour for crash tests conducted at approximately 20 mph.