Improvement of underrun protection of trucks

Truck accidents represent a significant factor in the overall road accident scene, namely 25 to 30% of the fatal accidents in the EU. Collision partners of trucks are mainly passenger cars in car-to-truck frontal collisions. The severity of this kind of accidents is due to the incompatibility of both vehicles. Today's passenger cars are built in a way that occupants stand a high chance of surviving a frontal impact to 56 kph. A truck fit with a rigid Front Underrun Protection Device would supply compatibility, which will reduce the number of 4200 fatalities under the car occupants yearly with 900. However, the average relative speed in car-to-truck frontal collisions is approximately 75 kph. To protect cars at these speeds it is essential that the truck bumper absorbs part of the crash energy. If trucks were equipped with an energy-absorbing Front Underrun Protection System, at least 300 car occupants more would not be killed. This paper describes a combined approach of full-scale crash tests and numerical simulations to predict the effects of rigid and energy absorbing front underrun protection of trucks. The reduction of injuries to driver and passenger was verified in a crash test where the truck absorbed part of the impact energy. The activities were carried out by a consortium of research institutes and truck manufacturers, in the framework of the European Enhanced Vehicle-Safety Committee (EEVC) Working Group 14 activities.