Pilar 8: Infraestructura material

This chapter describes recommendations regarding the results obtained in APROSYS SP4

‘Motorcyclist accidents’.

• SP4-R1: Injury criteria developed for motorcyclists.

- Numerical simulation with human-body model in PAMCrash has been demonstrated to provide insight into crash dynamics and injury mechanisms associated to sliding impacts of motorcyclists on roadside barriers. Such an insight would otherwise not have been available, due to the lack of relevant biomechanical knowledge. In order to establish injury criteria in this field, further fundamental biomechanical knowledge is needed as well as more suitable accident data and a more biofidelic dummy.

- These investigations revealed that additional injury criteria for the thorax should be considered for the future development of an impact-test standard. This may imply further modifications to a dummy such as the considered Hybrid III for reasons of better biomechanical fidelity.

- Future investigations in this field should imply the tools ‘Human-body model and dummy model in RADIOSS’ for the analysis of the highly complex characteristics of these impacts. This is of particular importance when injury criteria are to be established, as small variations of the conditions may cause a severe distortion of the measured values.

- Finally it has to be stated that the injury criteria obtained could not cover the scenario of upright impacts on roadside barriers, which had been seen to be equally important to the one treated here. This issue therefore remains to be further investigated.

• SP4-R2: Proposal of a new standard for impacts of motorcyclists against metal barriers.

- Once this proposal has been detailed the European Working Group/Technical Committee in charge has other input available to determine or specify a final proposal (at European level) of a new standard for testing motorcyclists against metal barriers.

- Although several national and in-depth accident databases have been analysed for obtaining/defining the impact parameters during the respective new tests, the updating of these accident analyses should be done every relative period of time to assure the values of the impact parameters continue being the same as the detailed ones in this proposal.

• SP4-R3: Motorcyclists protective system; motorcyclist friendly barriers (roadside infrastructure).

- Due to the low number of crash test carried out during the SP4 (two crash test using the French Metal Safety Barrier together with the Spanish MPD and one crash test using the German Metal Safety Barrier with the Spanish MPD), more tests should be done with the aim of assuring repetitivity and comparing the results obtained.

- On the other hand, the MPD designed in SP4 is supposed to be adapted on any European Safety Barrier. However, this integration needs a specific study to analyze the different possibilities and of course needs the testing of the final Motorcycle Barrier based on the standard proposal. Therefore, future research steps should be focused on how to integrate the MPD developed in SP4 together with the current existing Safety barriers.

- Once all the current existing Safety Barriers have been analysed (from the point of view of integrating the SP4 MPD), the respective tests should be done to assure the accordance with the parameters defined in the standard proposal as well as the parameters defined in EN-1317-2 [13].

- In case the standard proposal defined in SP4 (SP4-R2) or any other is approved by the respective European Working Group/Technical Committee, an important aspect to be considered is the study of the location of this ‘Motorcyclist Friendly Barrier’ in the European roads. This issue is necessary taking into account the different administrations´

budget limits, therefore the priorization of the places where to install them would be useful.

- Finally, although an estimation of the benefit of introducing MPD in European Roads has been done in SP4, the most real analyses about the effectiveness and benefit (CB) should be done after some years once the MPDs have been installed. Statistical techniques as ‘Before-After methodology’ could be applied to determine the respective CB ratio. The comparison to be done would focus on the severity of the injuries, and not over the quantity (it should be reminded that this result concerns to Passive Safety).

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• SP4-R4: Timing identification, evaluation and definition of working parameters for triggering a new passive safety system implemented in the vehicle or in the rider garment.

- Once the timing identification has been obtained, the specific kind of passive devices to be used should be assessed in a next phase of the ‘SIM project’ by specific computer simulations. In any case the SIM prototype vehicle will be provided at least of one specifically designed passive safety system, an airbag, and extensive virtual tests will be performed on inflatable protective garments (with actuation logic definition). In the future studies, to be performed in SIM project, the specification of the new passive safety system will be implemented and addressed based on the effectiveness analysis results described in the SP4 deliverable.

- It is clear that every information describes only a general and a preliminary arrangement for a new passive safety system each safety feature. Because of the innovative characteristics, the specific configuration for the prototypal vehicle must be studied more in detail (as it is going to be done in the next phases of SIM project).

- Clearly this information is not sufficient to make a valuation capable of properly judging activation or not activation against a situation of dangerous or not dangerous impact.

However, the strategy for the system activation and the development of the triggering algorithm must take into account both these outcomes and the analysis of road and misuse tests done as these data are also critical for the algorithm definition.

- Finally, in the case these passive safety devices were implemented (either in the PTW or in the rider garment), in-depth accident investigations should be carried out to know if these devices have been activated correctly mitigating motorcyclists injuries.

• SP4-R5: Development of thorax protector prototypes (male and female version).

- Although ergonomic tests have been carried out, some improvements could be done over this device with the aim of giving a more comfortable perception to the riders.

- The study of the development has highlighted the rule of the spread of the force on the human protection. This is important knowledge that has to be taken into account for the future motorcyclists´protective equipment European standards development.

- Finally, once this passive safety device starts to be used by the riders, in-depth accident investigations should be carried out to know if these devices have been useful to mitigate motorcyclists’ injuries.

• SP4-R6: Development of a helmet prototype with improved performance.

- Although an important safety improvement of then helmet has been gathered, analyses over other parts of the helmet (screen, rear part,…) should be done with the aim of improving its impact, ergonomic and comfort behaviour or perception.

- Finally, once this passive safety device starts to be used by the riders, in-depth accident investigations should be carried out to know if these devices have been useful to mitigate head motorcyclists’ injuries.

• SP4-R7: Revision of helmet testing current standard.

- Once this revision has been done and a new possible standard has been defined, the respective European Working Group/Technical Committee in charge has other input available to determine or specify a final proposal (at European level) of a new standard for testing helmets.

- It has to be considered that a mid-term proposal for amending the R22 has been done considering not too strict conditions but reducing the accepted limit values for the injury criteria (HIC, linear and rotational accelerations). Nevertheless, a most rigorous set of conditions describing in a more realistic way the real accidents should be applied for the long term, once the materials technologies can afford tougher helmets.

- Taking into account other innovative injury criteria have been proposed for a long-term proposal, a future step should be the implementation of this new criterion (use of finite element numerical head model to translate the outcomes from the R22 tests – accelerations – in real injuries by means of injury risks.

- The use of such head models substitute the commonly applied HIC criteria and makes more realistic predictions of the injuries that would be sustained by the rider’s head according to the impact scenarios. However, this is a sophisticated tool which requires some time to be widely used. Its implementation is foreseen for the next years.

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• SP4-R8: Development of road and misuse tests.

- It has not been analysed the impulses timing, such as the instant when the accelerometer detect the sudden deceleration due to impact against an obstacle. This has been because the aim of this work was to analyse only the impulse peak in order to trim the

“not activation” parameters for the new passive safety system, although for future research the impulses timing could be analysed.

- Finally, in the case these passive safety devices were implemented (either in the PTW or in the rider garment), in-depth investigations should be carried out (not only accident investigations if not any events) to know if these devices have been activated in real misuse driving conditions.

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