The introduction of mandatory safety belts for passengers in coaches has raised the discussion about the influence of occupants and belts in rollover results. The retention provided by the safety belts in the rollover will contribute to reduction of the injuries to the occupants but may lead to greater concerns over the vehicle structure. In this paper, the work carried out by INSIA-UPM to determine the influence of passengers under rollover requirements is presented. When belted occupants are included, the results related to the deformations and the energy absorbed by the vehicle structure should be equivalent to the ones obtained considering a percentage of the occupant mass fixed to the structure during the rollover. The percentage of the occupant mass to be considered depends on the restraint systems. For 2 points belts a percentage of approximately 50% has been estimated. For 3 points belts the estimated percentage raises to 90%. As a result, the introduction of mandatory safety belts will cause a large increment in the energy to be absorbed by the coach structure during a rollover. To achieve the current survival space preservation, the resistance and energy absorption capability under rollover required by R66 or Directive 2001/85/EC should be increased and the current designs of coaches must be modified.
Impact of the use of safety belts on the structural requirements under rollover of coaches
International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems (IJHVS) (Internet) ; 13 , 3 ; 163-179
2006
17 Seiten, 13 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 3 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Impact of the use of safety belts on the structural requirements under rollover of coaches
Automotive engineering | 2006
|Further Development of Rollover Safety in MAN Touring Coaches
British Library Online Contents | 1996
|The effect of safety belts in bus rollover process
Automotive engineering | 2002
|Seats and their anchorages strength in coaches under rollover
Automotive engineering | 2008
|F2008-08-145 SEATS AND THEIR ANCHORAGES' STRENGTH IN COACHES UNDER ROLLOVER
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008
|