The Global Technical Regulation on pedestrian safety: Likely effects on vehicle design

The Global Technical Regulation on pedestrian safety: Likely effects on vehicle design D. J. Searson, R. W. G. Anderson, T. P. Hutchinson Centre for Automotive Safety Research University of Adelaide In the near future, the Global Technical Regulation (GTR) on pedestrian safety may be implemented as part of an Australian Design Rule. This would require all new vehicle designs to meet a certain level of performance in pedestrian impact tests before they are allowed to be sold. This paper discusses the likely effects of the GTR on vehicle design, and how that relates to real world crash performance. This was done by analysing vehicles whose GTR performance could be estimated from prior testing conducted by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. The resulting performance estimates give an indication of what proportion of vehicles would be likely to pass the GTR, and what characteristics might cause them to fail the requirements. A method is presented for relating headform test performance to real world head injury risk, taking into account the distribution of speeds in real crashes, and the relationship between tests results and head injury. The final section of this paper is an analysis of the test conditions used in the GTR and how they might be updated in the future to encourage continual improvement. By considering higher crash speeds, the GTR could raise the minimum level of pedestrian safety in new vehicle designs.