Vehicle design for pedestrian protection

Abstract

This report is a review of the regulation of vehicle design as it relates to the protection of a pedestrian in the event of a collision. It commences with a brief description of the background to the current approach to regulation in this area and then gives an overview of the requirements of the European and Japanese regulations. Moves by the UN/ECE through the Global Technical Regulations to develop an internationally acceptable standard are described in the context of the existing regulations and the on-going work of the International Harmonised Research Activities Pedestrian Safety Working Group. The report concludes with a description of the proposed European Directive for the regulation of the design of vehicle frontal protection systems (bull bars) to reduce the risk of injury to a pedestrian in a collision, and a comparison of these proposed requirements with the Australian Standard for Vehicle Frontal Protection Systems.