Analysis of Effective Brake Deceleration Waveforms for Reducing Pedestrian Injuries in Vehicle Collisions

Abstract

Accident data shows that pedestrians can sustain injuries from both the vehicle and the ground in vehicle-pedestrian collisions. To mitigate ground-related injuries, multi-body simulations of vehicle-pedestrian collisions were conducted, and vehicle braking deceleration after contact was optimized to minimize pedestrian injuries from impact with the ground. The optimized vehicle braking deceleration profile allowed the pedestrian’s torso rotation angle to be less than 90 degrees, depending on the vehicle shape.