A new crash tests configuration for car-to-car frontal collisions with small lateral overlap

This article investigates the current accident statistics using data provided by GIDAS and Austrian databases. It shows that among frontal crashes between cars, the impact configuration with small lateral overlap (<30%) reveals risk for severe injuries and casualties as well as in significant numbers. Among the Austrian databases, 20 in-depth accident reconstructions were performed, evaluating each detail of the accident. The study shows that the impact configuration with small lateral overlap is especially dangerous since (a) energy absorbing structures such as the longitudinal beams are not involved; (b) the "rim locking effect" (impacted wheels are being caught up in each other during the crash and are pushed into the occupant compartment) endangers the safety cage. Based on the accident data, the relevant parameters (collision speed, overlap, and angle of impact) arc investigated and a representative impact configuration is proposed. The proposed test configuration is developed in a manner so as to account for as many collision scenarios as possible. Based on this configuration, computer simulations will be done, transforming this impact scenario into a single vehicle crash test impacting against an especially designed object.