SAE International is seeking experts to review standards that deal with inflatable restraints. If you’re interested, please contact SAE Standards Specialist Nikki Ameredes at nameredes@sae.org. The standards include several test standards:

J1630, Driver or Passenger Airbag Module Deployment Test Procedure. This SAE Recommended Practice describes a method to be used for the static […]

The Baltimore Sun reports:
Researchers hope to develop safer restraints by using a better crash-test dummy - one that includes a simulated child abdomen.
For more than a decade, it has been clear that the abdomen is the second most commonly injured body area in seat-belted youngsters, after the head. With the abdominal insert, safety engineers […]

PCB Piezotroncs’ Model 106M160 is a high-intensity ICP acoustic microphone, designed for measuring airbag deployment noise and total impulse of an inflation event occurring inside of an automotive cabin. The unit offers sensitivities of 79.8 mV/kPa (550 mV/psi); a measurement range of 189 dB (57.2 kPa); 96 dB (1.4 Pa) resolution; and frequency response of […]

A Virginia Commonwealth University study compares crash test data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) with government data on fatal crashes and finds that they fail to accurately project driver fatality risks for trucks.
The results indicate that the crash tests held by NHTSA and […]

From the November 27, 2007 issue of NIST Tech Beat:
Engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed and tested a laser-based ranging system to assess the performance of automobile collision warning systems. Researchers in industry and at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will be able to use the NIST technology […]

The website HowStuffWorks.Com has posted the article “How Crash Testing Works.” It’s not an article that’s going to help you perform better tests, but it’s a good intro to the subject. You might want to point people who ask you what you do for a living to it.

NHTSA modified Part 571 in September, incorporating a dynamic pole test and the enhancingthe moving deformable barrier test for FMVSS 214 side impact testing. The final rule will be effective November 13, 2007.
This final rule incorporates a dynamic pole test into FMVSS 214, ‘‘Side impact protection.’’ To meet the test, vehicle manufacturers will need […]

ESI Group has just released Version 2.0 of BioRID-II (Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy, model) for PAM-CRASH/PAM-SAFE 2G. This first industrial version of the newest BioRID-II dummy has an articulated thoracic/lumbar spine similar to the human one (having 24 vertebrae). The neck is maintained under pre-tension load via a muscle substitute consisting of a single damper […]

I never thought I’d be citing Auto Body Repair News on this blog, but they recently ran an article titled, “New roof-strength regulations delayed amid controversy over testing, proposed standards.” This article has a lot of interesting things to say about the proposed new standards for rollover safety and the tests used by the […]

TRL has released a new ‘biofidelic legform impactor’ for use in testing and assessing contact sensor technology used in vehicles’ active safety pedestrian systems. The new legform will enable vehicle and component manufacturers to accurately test and evaluate new systems designed to reduce pedestrian head injury in the event of a impact.
Based on […]