Journal of Accident Investigation

KRISTIN M. POLAND, LINDA McCRAY, AND AIDA BARSAN-ANELLI
Table 2. Frontal crash test results.
Dummy Nij HIC Chest G
#1 (50th M) 0.91 244 26.0
#2 (6 yo) 1.57 93 30.8
#3 (6 yo) 1.06 251 30.9
#4 (5th F) 1.15 105 No Data
#5 (5th F) 1.38 330 22.6
#6 (50th M) 0.84 150 22.3
which represented the onset of serious injuries. The FMVSS
No. 208 head injury criterion (HIC) based on a 1 -millisecond
(msec) duration, was 700 for the 0th percentile adult male, th
percentile adult female, and 6-year-old dummies. The FMVSS
No. 208 pass/fail criterion for chest acceleration based on a
3-msec duration was 60 g for the 0th percentile adult male,
th percentile adult female, and 6-year-old dummies.
HIC and chest injury values were low during the frontal crash
test, but the neck injury criterion was exceeded in four of the
six dummies.
Side Impact Crash Test - The second crash test was conducted
by towing a 2 ,26 -pound cab-over truck, at 4 mph and 90
degrees, into the side of a stationary, transit style school bus.
The impact point was chosen so that the left front edge of the
truck was directly behind the front axle of the school bus to
eliminate contact with rigid structures on the frame during the
initial penetration of the truck into the bus body. (See figures
Figure 11. Position of dummies during the frontal crash test.
Figure 12. The heavy truck relative to the side of the
school bus before impact.
12 and 13.) During impact, the truck penetrated the bus side
approximately halfway into the compartment and remained
engaged while rotating 180 degrees before coming to a stop.
The front axles were severed from both vehicles (figure 13).
Accelerometers placed along the length of the school bus
recorded a peak lateral acceleration of 72 g at the center of
impact. Acceleration levels dropped significantly with distance
from the point of impact, largely because the deformation that
occurred at the point of impact absorbed and dissipated much
of the energy that would otherwise have been transmitted to
the occupants of the bus. Unlike the frontal crash, no single
pulse fully represented the range of vehicle responses observed
in the side-impact crash. However, the overall pulse shape and
pulse duration were similar for most of the measured locations
along the length of the bus.
62 NTSB JOURNAL OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION, SPRING 2006; VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1